5 things you may not have known about birthday boy Gautam Gambhir

#4 11 fifties in a row

Gambhir, along many ICC Test player of the year, also received Castrol Cricketer of the Year award in 2009

Gambhir has quite a few records to his name, the most famous of all being his 11 half centuries. The southpaw held a prestigious record of scoring 11 50-plus scores in the longest format of the game. Prior to him, only Sir Viv Richards had achieved the feat and after Gambhir, his opening partner Virender Sehwag went on to equal the feat. In 2014, however, AB de Villiers eclipsed the record when he posted his 12th consecutive fifty.

Along with this, he also holds the record of scoring five centuries in five consecutive Test matches. He is also the only Indian to have two 50+ scores in two World Cup finals. No wonder he was one of the most fiercely combative cricketers the Indian team not long ago.