Gautam Gambhir had a long and illustrious career for India. He became the man for big moments and big matches.
The left-hander cracked 75 in the 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan in Johannesburg, and in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka, he scored 97 runs in a huge pressure run-chase. However, he didn’t feel so much pressure in these matches as he felt in a league phase game during the IPL 2014 season captaining for KKR.
Speaking with RevSportz, Gautam Gambhir was asked how did he dealt with pressure and what it was about him which made him perform on the two biggest occasions in his India career. The dashing opener, though, shocked everyone with his reply.
“Playing the World Cup final was not pressure. I had runs behind me, I was doing something I liked doing, and I was confident of doing well. In fact, even when we lost two wickets, I did not have a single negative thought. All I was focussed on was playing the next ball,” Gambhir told RevSportz.
“That’s what it is about. Just play the next ball and don’t look too far ahead. If you do, that’s when you build pressure on yourself. If you just play the next ball, you know you are in control. And that’s what I did in the 2011 final. Honestly, I did not feel pressure and nor did I have negative thoughts when we were two down.”
When I got three consecutive ducks for KKR: Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir revealed that the only time he was under severe pressure in his cricketing career was in the 2014 IPL when, as KKR’s captain, he was struggling with the bat and had bagged three consecutive ducks in the first three matches of the season.
“In fact, the only time I felt pressure was in 2014 when I got three consecutive ducks for KKR [Kolkata Knight Riders] in Dubai as captain. That’s when I felt pressure. I then got one in the fourth innings and was ashamed of my efforts. That was pressure. You feel the pressure when things don’t go well for you. Not when things are right, and you are on a roll,” the 41-year-old added.
In the 4th game, then, looking to switch the narrative, the KKR skipper then asked number 3 Manish Pandey to open. Pandey got out for 8 and Gambhir for just 1. He said he would then switch back to the opening position. In the 5th game then, he smashed Richardson for a four first ball and scored 45 runs.
