Botham's Record-Breaking Performance and Gavaskar's Injury Mar England's Revenge Tour

England's Revenge Tour: Botham's Record-Breaking Performance and Gavaskar's Injury

In 1982, the England cricket team embarked on a tour of India, seeking redemption after their disappointing performance in the previous series. Despite losing both Tests and ODIs, England was determined to turn the tables.

The first Test at Lord's proved to be a close contest, with Dilip Vengsarkar scoring a century for India. However, England's pace duo of Bob Willis and Ian Botham proved too strong, leading their team to victory.

The second Test in Manchester ended in a high-scoring draw, curtailed by rain. The third Test at the Oval witnessed a remarkable performance by Botham, who set a new record for the fastest double century, reaching the milestone in just 220 balls. Kapil Dev also impressed with a blistering 97 off 93 balls, but the match ultimately ended in a draw.

Beyond his record-breaking performance, Botham also made headlines for an unfortunate incident. While fielding at silly point, he smashed a drive off Ravi Shastri into the left leg of Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, breaking his tibia. Gavaskar was immediately taken off the field and later diagnosed with a broken tibia above the left ankle.

"I knew I'd hit it hard. I'm sorry to have put Sunny out of the Test," Botham reportedly said at the close of play.

The injury to Gavaskar was a major blow to India, and England capitalized on the opportunity to win the series 1-0. Botham's all-round performance, including his record-breaking double century and the unfortunate injury to Gavaskar, made this series a memorable one in the annals of cricket history.

Tags: #EnglandCricket, #IndiaCricket, #IanBotham, #SunilGavaskar, #TestCricket