Gundappa Viswanath

Gundappa Viswanath
Personal information
Full name
Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath
Born (1949-02-12) 12 February 1949 (age 75)
Bhadravathi, Mysore State, India
Height5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[1]
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLegbreak
Relations
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 124)15 November 1969 v Australia
Last Test30 January 1983 v Pakistan
ODI debut (cap 10)3 April 1974 v England
Last ODI2 June 1982 v England
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI
Matches 91 25
Runs scored 6,080 439
Batting average 41.93 19.95
100s/50s 14/35 0/2
Top score 222 75
Balls bowled 70 –
Wickets 1 –
Bowling average 46.00 –
5 wickets in innings 0 –
10 wickets in match 0 –
Best bowling 1/11 –
Catches/stumpings 63/– 3/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 4 February 2006

Gundappa Ranganath Viswanath pronunciationⓘ (born 12 February 1949) is a former Indian cricketer. Vishwanath was rated as one of India's finest batsmen throughout the 1970s. Viswanath played Test cricket for India from 1969 to 1983, making 91 appearances and scoring more than 6,000 runs. He also played in One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1982, including the World Cups of 1975 and 1979.

At state level, he played for Karnataka (formerly Mysore) throughout his career. Viswanath, popularly nicknamed "Vishy", had an elegant and wristy batting style which emphasized timing rather than power. Though he had a complete repertoire of shots around the wicket, Viswanath's choice shot was the square cut, one he often used to great effect against fast bowlers. He regularly fielded at slip.

He is the only cricketer to score a double century on debut in a first-class match (against Andhra Pradesh in 1967) and a century on debut in a Test match.[2] In 2008, he received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour Indian board can bestow on a former player.[3]

  1. ^ "Rising to great heights". ESPN. 3 May 2011. Sunil Gavaskar's brother-in-law, and even smaller than him at around 5ft 3in
  2. ^ "Who scored a double-century on first-class debut and a hundred in his first Test?". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Viswanath nominated for CK Nayudu award". ESPNcricinfo. 7 February 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2023. ... CK Nayudu lifetime achievement award, the highest honour the Indian board can bestow on a former player.