Top 3 innings by Gautam Gambhir which bailed India out of trouble

A cricketer's true character is determined by his performance when the team is in need. Aptly, Gautam Gambhir was a true team man, a stubborn cricketer whose presence instilled confidence within the side to achieve the impossible.

Gambhir bid adieu to all forms of cricket on December 4 2018, calling time on a career that has seen the former India opener achieve glorious highs across all formats for the country.

His career witnessed a lot of highs and lows, but it would be remembered mostly for the two most crucial innings, those that helped India become the world champions twice in a span of four years.

Gambhir himself called his innings in both the finals as "stuffs dreams are made of". In IPL, his role in the remarkable turnaround of fortunes for IPL franchise of Kolkata stamped his authority as a quality leader.

The beginning of a celebrated career

The Delhi opener started off his domestic career in 1999, scoring a bulk of runs for the Delhi Ranji side. With two back to back double hundreds in 2002, he made a strong case for himself in the national squad, something that was doing the rounds for long.

His appetite for heavy scoring did not remain unnoticed for too long and the southpaw made the debut for India in 2003 against Bangladesh. He got to his maiden century in ODIs in 2005 against Sri Lanka, scoring 103 off 97 deliveries. He made his Test debut in 2004 against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

At par with the greats

The Delhi opener, in the last decade and a half, played some extraordinary innings for the team that maybe were overshadowed by some other equally good performance. Here, we take a look at 3 innings of the former India opener that can arguably put him in the league of greats.

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1. 137 (436) vs New Zealand, Napier - 2009

Gautam Gambhir's marathon effort in Napier is arguably among India's best innings overseas

Gambhir was going through a purple patch during 2008-2009, scoring heavily across formats for India. During India's tour to New Zealand in 2009, India had dug themselves a hole in the second Test match when they were bundled out for a paltry 305 in reply to a New Zealand first innings score of 619.

India were asked to follow on and, wasn't expected by many to stand a chance with more than two days left in the game. The southpaw had other ideas though. At close of play on day 3, India lost Sehwag cheaply but Gambhir managed to stay on and fight.

He batted throughout the next two days, scoring 137 off 436, earning India a famous draw. In the process, he batted for 643 minutes in the two days, creating quite a few records en route the marathon knock.

Gambhir's marathon effort to save the Test match will always be regarded as one of India's finest individual performances overseas.

2. 150* (137) vs Sri Lanka, Eden Gardens - 2009

Gambhir played an effortless knock of 150* against the Lankans in 2009.

After losing the opening duo of Sachin and Sehwag with just 23 on the board, the Indian team was looking for someone who could steady the sinking ship and play out an aggressive yet calculated knock, in order to chase down Sri Lanka's mammoth score of 315.

Gambhir, quite characteristically, came to the fore yet again and played a sublime innings of 150. The fact that he remained unbeaten till the end, highlighted his zeal to see things through for his side.

He, along with a fairly young Kohli, carved India out of trouble, ultimately helping the team win quite comfortably. Sparks of a great leader were evident when he asked his man of the match to be awarded to Kohli, the first time centurion for India, realising that this could have a huge impact on the youngster's confidence.

3. 97 (122) vs Sri Lanka, Wankhede - 2011

Gambhir's 97 helped India become world champions after 28 years.

Imagine the pressure of coming in to bat with the score reading 0/1 in 0.2 overs, chasing a target of 275 in a World Cup final. The pressure is bound to be an immense one.

Gambhir's character and toughness came to India's fore again in the final of ICC World Cup in 2011 when he came in to bat in one of the toughest situations one could imagine. He managed to dig a partnership along with Kohli and went on to score a match-winning 97 in Mumbai.

Along with the tough situation, he ably tackled the quality of the opposition attack comprising of Muralitharan, Malinga and Kulasekara.

The fact that he was dismissed attempting a big shot, despite nearing a milestone, highlighted the man's team spirit. Though he missed out on being awarded player of the match in the finals, his contribution in India's victory can never be undermined.

With curtains being drawn on his career, Gambhir can look back and be proud of his efforts. His contribution to Indian cricket has been immense, with timely and worthy performances whenever required.

A purists' delight, Gambhir will always be remembered as a stubborn cricketer - one who wore his heart on his sleeve, never gave up and stood for the team under trying circumstances.