Flashback: The first batter to hit a century in both innings of a Test three times

Scoring a Test century requires talent and patience, let alone scoring a Test century in both innings of a match. Thus, it takes severe perseverance and skills to score a hundred in both the innings of a game on more than one occasion. While Sunil Gavaskar was the first batter to score a hundred in both innings of a red-ball game thrice, all of them were sensational, to say the least. Here are the three instances:

1) 124 and 220 vs West Indies (1971):

The Windies tour in 1971 was as memorable as it could get for the legend, as the fifth Test in Trinidad saw him score two hundreds in a Test for the first time. While he scored 124 in the first innings, he ended up scoring a magnificent 220 during the second. Although the match turned out to be a draw, India did go on to win the five-match Test series by a margin of 1-0.

2) 111 and 137 vs Pak (1978):

The second instance of the former opener scoring centuries in both the innings of a game came against India’s arch-rivals Pakistan. While it came in the third Test, the now 72-year-old kept running out of partners in the first innings, but still ended up scoring 111. He then backed it up by scoring a magnificent 137 in the second innings.

3) 107 and 182* vs West Indies (1978-79):

These two knocks again came against the mighty West Indies, this time at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India’s first innings saw Gavaskar be a one-man army. He scored 107 and ensured his team gets to 300. His unbeaten 182 in the second innings then ensured that the hosts draw the Test. However, India did go on to win the six-match Test series by a margin of 1-0