Top 5 knocks played by Gautam Gambhir

You can't help but shed a tear when something like this happens.

Not every player gets the hero's send-off. Then again, not every player vies for it. But if there was one guy who deserved it, it has to be Gautam Gambhir.

We had all seen the signs. Sitting out of the Delhi Daredevils matches in IPL, vacating the captaincy role; some things had changed. Maybe the body had started wearing out, maybe the fire had started diminishing.

Whatever it was, Gambhir did great service to his team and country whenever he stepped out to play.

A gritty, hard-working individual who was born to be a fighter, Gambhir has left an indelible mark in the history of Indian cricket.

His legacy will never be forgotten, and on the day he bids farewell, we take a look at his top 5 knocks in international cricket.

#1 75 vs Pakistan in the 2007 World T20 final, South Africa

If it wasn't for those 75 runs in the final, India was never going to post a competitive total

Let's state some facts about this match.

- India's Total Score: 157 runs

- Gambhir's score: 75 runs

- Next highest score in the complete match: Misbah Ul Haq, 43 runs

If you go back and watch the highlights of the final, then you can clearly see that there was only one batsman who seemed to have the measure of the bowling on that day.

Robin Uthappa had failed. Yuvraj Singh, the star of the tournament, couldn't get going. MS Dhoni was castled by Umar Gul.

Even in the Pakistani contingent, almost every batsman barring Misbah Ul Haq failed to register anything of substance in the match. If it wasn't for those 75 runs, India would have probably never been able to choke Pakistan the way they did.

#2 97 vs Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final, India

Gambhir stitched together vital partnerships with Kohli and Dhoni

A World Cup final, that too in India. A match against neighbors Sri Lanka, who had inflicted so much pain just four years ago, at the 2007 World Cup.

The stage was set for India to not only take revenge but create history for themselves. But Sri Lanka on their part scored a very competitive total on a good batting track. And when both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag walked back to the pavilion very early in the innings, there was suddenly enormous pressure on the hosts.

If it wasn't for the two crucial partnerships that Gambhir stitched together with Virat Kohli (a future star in his own right) and MS Dhoni, then India's innings could easily have folded.

Although Gambhir missed out on a hundred in a World Cup final, at the end of the day he had done the job.

#3 137 vs New Zealand at Napier, 2009

137 runs, 436 balls, 643 minutes. Job done.

If ever there was an innings of resolute patience that could draw comparisons with the kind of innings that Sunil Gavaskar played in his heyday, then it was this one.

137 runs, 436 balls, 643 minutes - these are not small numbers, especially when your team is trying to save the Test match after being made to follow on and trailing by more than 300 runs.

Gambhir stitched together partnerships with all the greats of the Indian team in that match - Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. And even after Dravid and Tendulkar departed Gambhir stayed rooted at the crease, toiling away and not giving an inch to the opposition.

In the end, when Gambhir got out after batting for about 160 overs, the team was out of danger and the match was saved.

This innings really put Gambhir on the map of international cricket, and everyone started taking notice of his gumption in its aftermath.

#4 206 vs Australia at Delhi, 2008

He came, He saw and He conquered the best

In the third Test of the series between India and Australia at Gambhir's home ground of Feroz Shah Kotla in 2008, India were batting first. With the help of home conditions as well as a great pitch to bat on, Gambhir took the attack to the opposition, which shocked the Aussies.

He got involved in so many verbal altercations with the fielders that it became clear he had got under their skin. The Aussies just couldn't understand what to do with the southpaw.

Gambhir stitched together a vital partnership with VVS Laxman (200*), and eventually lost his wicket after scoring 206 runs off 380 balls with 26 fours and a six. Because of Gambhir's effort, India piled on the runs and scored a mammoth total of 613.

This was Gambhir’s first and only international double ton, which makes it his highest international score.

#5 150* vs Sri Lanka at Kolkata, 2009

A classy and aggressive innings under the lights

In today's era, chasing a score of 316 is probably not that big a deal. But at that point in time, 316 was still a very competitive score.

India were in a spot of bother while chasing, as they had lost both Sehwag and Sachin in quick succession and the run rate was increasing at a rapid rate.

Gambhir then combined with Virat Kohli, and the duo slowly began the counterattack against Sri Lanka. With the lights taking effect the duo kept creaming the bowlers all around the park and put on a 200-plus run partnership.

Kohli departed after scoring his hundred but Gambhir carried on with the same momentum and took the team to the target.

He scored 150 runs off 137 balls with 14 fours, and won the game with two overs to spare.