The Great Game Called Cricket...

Gundappa ViswanathGundappa Viswanath

India

Player profile

Full name Gundappa Rangnath Viswanath
Born February 12, 1949, Bhadravati, Mysore
Current age 60 years 50 days
Major teams India, Karnataka, Mysore
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Legbreak
Other Referee

Batting and fielding averages Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 6s Ct St
Tests 91 155 10 6080 222 41.93 14 35 6 63 0
ODIs 25 23 1 439 75 19.95 830 52.89 0 2 3 0
First-class 308 486 47 17970 247 40.93 44 89 227 0
List A 59 57 3 1463 108* 27.09 1 9 13 0

Bowling averages Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 91 7 70 46 1 1/11 1/11 46.00 3.94 70.0 0 0 0
ODIs 25 - - - - - - - - - - - -
First-class 308 1147 729 15 2/21 48.60 3.81 76.4 0 0
List A 59 50 49 4 4/13 4/13 12.25 5.88 12.5 1 0 0

Career statistics Test debut India v Australia at Kanpur, Nov 15-20, 1969 scorecard
Last Test Pakistan v India at Karachi, Jan 30-Feb 4, 1983 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut England v India at Leeds, Jul 13, 1974 scorecard
Last ODI England v India at Leeds, Jun 2, 1982 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class span 1967/68 - 1987/88
List A span 1973/74 - 1987/88

ICC match referee statistics Test debut Zimbabwe v Australia at Harare, Oct 14-17, 1999 scorecard
Last Test Zimbabwe v West Indies at Bulawayo, Nov 12-16, 2003 scorecard
Test matches 15
Test statistics
ODI debut Kenya v Zimbabwe at Dhaka, Mar 19, 1999 scorecard
Last ODI New Zealand v West Indies at Lord's, Jul 10, 2004 scorecard
ODI matches 78
ODI statistics

Profile

Gundappa Viswanath was a true artist with the willow - his strokeplay, particularly the late-cut executed with lumberjack-strong wrists, was nothing less than divine. He was equally adept against pace and spin - waiting on the ball against the fastmen and using twinkling footwork against the spinners - and he came good when it truly mattered. Though statistics don't convey it, Vishy was every bit as crucial as Sunil Gavaskar to the Indian team of the 1970s. Right from his century on debut in 1969-70, he performed better when the chips were down than any other Indian batsman. Especially memorable was an unbeaten, matchwinning 97 against a rampaging Andy Roberts at Madras in 1974-75. Viswanath often excelled on pitches others found difficult - witness his matchwinning 124 out of 255 on another fiery, bouncy Madras wicket against West Indies in 1978-79, and innings of 83 and 79 against New Zealand on a Christchurch greentop in 1975-76. He played the game in its true spirit: a century had little value to him if it didn¹t contribute to the team cause and he disputed an umpire¹s decision only once, recalling Bob Taylor in the Golden Jubilee match against England in 1979-80. It cost him the Test, one of only two where he led India, but to Vishy, it mattered more that the game should be played fair.
H Natarajan