Exactly 40 years ago this week a 21-year-old Indian batsman in his debut series notched up a fabulous feat that went a long way in steering India to a historic triumph over the West Indies in the five-Test contest. To the younger generation brought up on numerous notable victories in Fifty50 andTwenty20 and being around in an era when India are the No 1 Test team in the game and the No 2 ODI team this would hardly seem significant enough to warrant mention all these years later. Nothing can be further from the truth for that triumph in the Caribbean altered the face of Indian cricket in the international arena. From then on any contest with an Indian team could not be taken lightly thanks largely to the impact that one immensely gifted youngster with a water tight technique, intense concentration and an insatiable appetite for runs had on the cricketing scene worldwide.

Let later generations talk about other great players. For me it will always be Sunil Gavaskar who first made the