Vishwanath with debut century, India never lost any match in which he scored a century!

Gundappa Vishwanath is counted among the great batsmen of Indian cricket, who achieved the feat of scoring a century in his debut Test match. Whenever Vishwanath scored a century in his Test career, India did not lose that match. He was the first Indian to score a century against all the Test playing nations in his era.

Born on 12 February 1949 in Mysore, Gundappa Ranganath Vishwanath made a place in the senior Indian team with his brilliant performance in domestic cricket. He made his mark by scoring a double century on his first-class debut for Mysore against Andhra in 1967-68.

Gundappa Vishwanath got a chance to debut in Test in November 1969. Vishwanath could not even open his account in the first innings of this match against Australia, after which he scored 137 runs in the next innings.

Whether Gundappa Vishwanath played domestic matches or Test matches for India, he never practiced in the nets before the match. He used to try to save his energy before the match.

Vishwanath, famous for his excellent timing and technique, played 91 Tests for India. During this period, 6,080 runs were scored with an average of 41.93. Vishwanath played century innings 14 times. The special thing was that whenever Vishwanath scored a century, India did not lose that match. In the matches in which Vishwanath scored centuries, India won 4, while 10 ended in draws.

Vishwanath made his debut in the ODI format on 13 July 1974, playing 25 matches. During this period, he scored 439 runs with an average of 19.95.

Vishwanath played his last ODI match in 1982, while he played his last Test match in February 1983. After retirement, he also worked as an ICC match referee between 1999 and 2004. He was the Vice President of Karnataka State Cricket Association and also held the post of Chairman of the National Selection Committee. Gundappa Vishwanath was awarded the ‘Arjuna Award’ in the year 1977 for his outstanding contribution to cricket.