5 famous batsmen who were dismissed off the first ball of a Test match

#1 Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar

He is among the greatest opening batsmen to have played Test cricket and in a career spanning 16 years (1971 to 1987), Sunil Gavaskar took batting excellence to a new level. However, something that would always be a part of his records is that fact that he was dismissed off the first ball of a Test match as many as three times. It is the highest in the history of the game and it is unlikely that any batsman is going to break that particular record anytime soon.

The first time that Gavaskar was dismissed off the first ball was back in 1974 against England at Birmingham. It was a forgettable series for India as they lost the series 3-0 and in the 2nd Test, Geoff Arnold had him caught behind off the first ball. England went on to win the game by an innings and 78 runs. The 2nd time it happened was in 1983 against the mighty West Indies at the Eden Gardens. 100,000 spectators at the ground were silenced after the first delivery of the match when Malcolm Marshall got him caught behind the 1st ball. The West Indies won the game by an innings and 46 runs.

The third and last time that it happened was in 1987 when Pakistan great Imran Khan had Gavaskar caught off the first ball during the 3rd Test at Jaipur. That game, thankfully, ended in a draw.