Indian Cricket Team has been blessed with great batting talent. One of them is former Indian Cricketer Chetan Chauhan. The right-handed batsman is celebrating his 72nd birthday on Sunday. Born in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Chetan was often counted as one of the best batsmen of the Indian team in the 1970s.

Not only on Indian soil, but Chetan also did well even in overseas conditions. Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan formed a formidable opening partnership for India- one that became world-famous because of the duo’s success rate at the top of the order.

Famous for opening partnerships

Chetan made his debut when he was 22-years-old against New Zealand. In his first match though, Chetan could not score too many runs, but his one six and two boundaries studded 18 showcased the glimpses of his true ability.

As time passed, he became one of the known faces of Indian batting. In 1979, against England at their home turf in Oval, Gavaskar and Chauhan stitched a record 213 run opening partnership. Chauhan made 80 runs but more importantly, stayed there on the crease for more than five hours against an English bowling attack which had the likes of Mike Hendrick, Ian Bothan, Bob Willis and Peter Willey.

In the 1970s, Gavaskar and Chauhan stitched as many as 10-century partnerships for the opening wicket- no less than a record at that time.

No century in a 12-year long international career

Chetan Chauhan played international cricket for 12 long years in which he played 40 Test matches and scored 2084 runs at an average of 31.57. This includes 16 half-centuries.

However, Chauhan could not score a single century in his International Career. His highest score of 97 came against Australia.

Chetan was the first cricketer in Test Match history to score more than 2000 Test runs without a century. The second name in this list is of Shane Warne.

First-class career

The veteran’s first-class career saw him play 179 matches in which he averaged 40.22 and scored 11143 runs. These include 21 hundreds and 59 half-centuries. His highest score in first-class career is 207 runs.

Second innings in politics

After retiring from International Cricket, Chetan Chauhan played his second innings in politics. He has been elected a member of Parliament twice from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh and is now a cabinet minister.

Best wishes to Chetan Chauhan on his 72nd birthday!