Gambhir: The forgotten hero?

I was watching the IPL game between the KKR and the RCB. Gautam Gambhir played one of his best T20 knocks. It was a yet another 90 from Gambhir. I was so wishing that Gambhir had got this century because I did not want it to be another of his forgotten knocks. Gambhir for me would remain one the most under appreciated cricketers in modern times.

In this post, I would like to throw light on two of the most crucial innings played by Gambhir, which I feel haven't been given the credit they deserved. Both these knocks came in the two World Cup finals which India had won. The 75 in the T20 World Cup and the 97 in the 2011 50 over World Cup.

The forgotten Innings of World T20

Whenever one talks about the T20 world cup win, the things that typically come to our mind are, Joginder Sharma's over, Sreesanth's catch, Irfan's Man of the Match performance, Misbah's innings and his scoop and also MS Dhoni's masterly move to give Joginder the over ahead of Harbhajan. All these played a very important role in shaping up a famous win. It is indeed true that Dhoni's captaincy was inspiring. It is true that Joginder kept his calm and it is also a fact that Irfan did bowl out of if skin. But despite all this, it is really unfair to forget the fact that it was Gautam Gambhir's innings that had set up the stage for these great things to happen. Gambhir was the architect of the stage where one of the greatest T20 games was played. On the day when the Indian batting failed Gautam Gambhir stood strong. India went into the game sans Sehwag which must have added extra pressure on Gambhir. Despite the losses around him, Gambhir crafted a crucial 75 of 54 deliveries. It was the day when all the T20 heroes had failed to deliver. Yuvraj, Uthappa, Pathan and Dhoni - They all had an off day with the bat. And coupled with this disaster was the fact that this was a World Cup Final. Imagine the pressure Gambhir must have played under. Under these extreme circumstances, Gambhir unearthed 75 priceless runs and allowed India to post a total which they could defend. Gambhir is surely one of the chief architects of the Indian T20 World Cup win. It was not just a 'useful contribution' as many reporters had put it as. It was one of the most important constituents of the win.

Gambhir missed a magical century just by 3 runs

In the 50 over World Cup final Gambhir played another magical inning. When you are chasing 270 odd and the team 30 odd of 2 and when it is a World Cup Final, you are playing under immense pressure. Gautam Gambhir skillfully absorbed all the pressure and crafted a magnificent 97 runs. Each of those 97 runs had come under extreme pressure. It is a pity that Gambhir did not get the honour of a hundred in a World Cup Final which he truly deserved. It is also a pity that his innings was overshadowed by more swashbuckling innings by MSD. Not taking any credit away from Dhoni and his bold decision to come up the order, but yet again it was Gambhir's innings that allowed Dhoni to free his arms. Yet again, Gambhir had constructed the stage and Dhoni revelled on it. Despite that fact that it was fantastic innings by MS, it would not be unfair to say that, unlike Gambhir's innings fifty percent of those runs had come when the pressure was off. That is why I rate Gambhir's innings a few notches above Dhoni's.

 Time and again Gambhir has shown his great ability to handle pressure and carve great innings' under extreme pressures in games of high importance. Gambhir may not have the artistic touch to his game. He also does not have the power-hitting touch to his game. But he undoubtedly has a lot of guts and tremendous ability to play under the most difficult of circumstances.Whether you talk about his exploits in the two World Cup finals or his match-saving innings at Napier, he has always been an epitome of guts and determination. Gambhir is very similar to Shiv Chanderpaul, probably Gambhir's cricket is less ugly than Shiv's. But both of them have a very similar approach to the game - 'It is not about how you get those runs but how many you get'. He may nudge the ball here and there and defend awkwardly but Gambhir will never throw his wicket away. It has to be always earned by the bowlers. There may not be many who would pay to watch Gambhir bat, but in a difficult situation, most people would put their money on Gautam Gambhir.

It is important that Gambhir is recognised as one of the true heroes of modern cricket. He is one of the rare breeds who plays all the three formats of the game equally well. Gambhir deserves far more recognition than what he gets.