'Will be a wonderful gift' - Sunil Gavaskar wants India to win South Africa Test series on Kapil Dev's birthday

One of India’s greatest cricketers ever, Kapil Dev will be celebrating his 63rd birthday on 6th January, 2022, and the fans around the world will be pouring in their wishes. Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar was very much determined for India to win the ongoing Test series in South Africa and make it a memorable evening on the eve of India’s first World cup-winning captain’s birthday.

Meanwhile, a win in the second Test is not going to be that easy for the Indian side as the Proteas are fighting it out in the fourth innings in a chase of 240. Dean Elgar-led side still has eight wickets in the bank and will need just 122 runs to level the series 1-1. Rain might hamper play for a bit on the fourth day, but the match is expected to finish earlier and there is still plenty of time left in the Test for a result.

Winning Test series in South Africa will be huge for India: Sunil Gavaskar

India has never won a Test series in South Africa for a long time now and the best scoreline they have come to was in 2010 when they tied the series 1-1. They had an excellent chance in the last tour in 2018 with an excellent fast bowling attack but had to settle for a 1-2 series loss. However, this time the stage is set for the Indian side to script history. Gavaskar felt that an emphatic win for India on the fourth day could be the best possible gift to Kapil Dev.

“India have never won a series here. In fact, India have won very few Test matches here. The last time India came here in 2018, they won the one-day series but they lost the Test series 2-1. So this is going to be huge for India,” Gavaskar said on SuperSport.

“And the way I look at it is, I mean, weather permitting… tomorrow happens to be the birthday in my view of India’s greatest cricketer – Kapil Dev. So, I think it will be wonderful gift for Kapil from this Indian team. There are many admirers of Kapil Dev in this team. So from this team to Kapil Dev, that will be a fantastic present,” Sunil Gavaskar told during the lunch session on Day three.

Kapil Dev represented India in 131 Tests and 225 ODIs and is popularly recognized to be the best all-rounder India has ever produced.