Throwback: When Gundappa Viswanath recalled an England batter who was adjudged caught behind

Former India batter Gundappa Viswanath celebrated his 75th birthday on Monday, Feb. 12. Renowned for his legendary square cut, he played 91 Tests from 1969 to 1983, scoring 6,080 runs at an average of 41.93, with 14 hundreds and 35 fifties.

The brother-in-law of batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, the artistic Viswanath made a name for himself as someone who thrived in difficult batting conditions. He had a terrific Test record against the West Indies, scoring 1,455 runs in 18 Tests, averaging 53.88, with four hundreds and seven fifties. The stylish batter also averaged over 53 against Australia in 18 Tests, hitting four tons and nine half-centuries.

Apart from his batting exploits, Viswanath is also known as someone who was a firm believer in playing the game in the right spirit. Sticking to his philosophy, he famously recalled England’s Bob Taylor during the Golden Jubilee Test in 1979-80 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

During this game, Taylor was adjudged caught behind by umpire Jiban Dhan Ghosh off Kapil Dev's bowling. However, Viswanath, who was captain in that game, asked Taylor whether he had nicked it. The English batsman replied that he did not and the Indian captain called him back.

At that point, England were in big trouble responding to India’s first innings total of 242. However, Taylor (43 off 180) ended up stitching a huge 171-run stand with Ian Botham (114 off 144) for the sixth wicket. The visitors finished with 296 on the board despite Karsan Ghavri’s five-fer and Kapil’s 3/64.

Botham, who had taken six wickets in the first innings before scoring a brilliant hundred, ran through India’s batting line-up with 7/48 from 26 overs in the second innings. The hosts were bowled out for 149 in 52.1 overs. England chased down a target of 98 with all 10 wickets in hand as Graham Gooch was unbeaten on 49 and Geoff Boycott on 43.

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Gundappa Viswanath has no regrets over calling back Bob Taylor

In hindsight, many critics reckon that Viswanath’s decision to call back Taylor was a pivotal moment in the Golden Jubilee Test. The former India captain, however, has never expressed regret over his much admired gesture.

Recalling the famous incident from the Golden Jubilee Test, he told Mid-Day in 2011:

"As a captain, I did what was right at the stage without thinking about the final result. It was clear that he (Taylor) was not out and that was the only thing that mattered. Whatever we would have done in those five days, Botham was just too good and would have probably won it for England either way.”

The one-off Test between India and England in 1979-80 was played to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).