OTD | Viv Richards made his first Test hundred in 1974

Sir Vivian Issac Alexander Richards was a cricketing stalwart who made batting look entertaining for over 17 years. In the two decades of West Indies’ dominance in world cricket, Viv Richards played a key role with the bat. Right from the time he made his debut, the young batter was earmarked for greatness. 

Viv Richards made his Test debut against India in Bengaluru in late 1974. The young batter was out for 4 and 3 as he was snapped by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar in both innings of the game. West Indies though won the game by a massive margin of 267 runs with their pacers running through India’s batters. 

In his very 2nd game, Richards showed the class he had as he scored a century to serve notice to the world. India batted first and scored 220 with P Sharma top scoring with 54 as Andy Roberts picked 5/51. In reply, West Indies scored a mammoth 493 runs to take a lead of 273 runs. 

Viv Richards’s brutal ton leaves India dazed

The star with the bat for the visitors was Viv Richards who smashed 192 runs from a mere 321 balls. The Antiguan hit 20 fours and 6 huge sixes during his knock. None of the bowlers were spared as Richards took full toll of the tired and uninspired Indian bowling attack. A trio of Bedi, Prasanna, and Venkataraghavan were smashed to all parts of the stadium. 

Skipper Clive Lloyd scored 71 while Kieth Boyce with 68 were the next best batters for the visiting side. In reply, India was bundled out for 256 as Lance Gibbs picked 6/76 from his 41 overs and Farokh Engineer’s 75 was the best score for India. 

Richards ended his career with 121 Test matches and scored 8540 runs with an average of 50. The right-handed batting legend also hit 24 centuries and 45 fifties and picked 32 wickets during his legendary career. After Lloyd retired, Richards took over the team and led them to greater heights but an ICC title eluded him. 

The former West Indian star also played 187 ODI games scoring  6721 runs with a best of 189 not out which was the highest total in ODI by a batter for a long time. Richards also hit 11 centuries and 45 fifties and scored his runs with an average of 47. With the ball, Richards took 118 wickets with a best of 6/41 which was one of his 2 fifers in ODI cricket. 

Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions. 

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