Reminiscing Gautam Gambhir's top moments as he turns 36
Gautam Gambhir is best remembered for his top knocks that contributed to India's victories in the 2007 World T20 and 2011 ODI World Cup finals. He was the top scorer for India on both the occasions. As the Delhi batsman celebrates his 36th birthday, let's look back at the highs and lows of his career.
Gambhir's career in numbers
Playing for India, Gambhir was part of 58 Test matches and scored 4154 runs, at an average of 41.96. This included 9 centuries and 22 half-centuries. He played 143 ODI innings, scoring 5238 runs and has an average of 39.68. He scored 11 tons and 34 fifties. Gambhir was part of 37 T20I matches and where he scored 932 runs.
India never lost a match under Gambhir's captaincy
Gautam Gambhir captained India in 6 ODIs between 2010 to late 2011, winning all the matches.
Best years of career
Having made his ODI debut for India in 2003, one of Gambhir's best performances came during the 2007 World T20 when he scored 75 in the final against Pakistan. He went on to establish himself as a top opening Test batsman. In 2008, he amassed 1134 Test runs at an average of just above 70 and in 2009 he scored 727 at 90.87 average.
ICC Test Player of the Year
For his performances, in 2009, Gautam Gambhir was awarded the ICC Test Player of the Year.
Loss of form and place in the Indian squad
Owing to loss of form and shaky performances, Gambhir was dropped from Indian team in 2012. While he was recalled to play in 2014, it was only for two Tests. The gritty southpaw was most recently part of India's Test squad against England in Nov 2016. Having fallen out of favour with the selectors, Gambhir continues to grind in the domestic format.
Revival with IPL
While away from international cricket, Gambhir made it big in the IPL having led his side Kolkata Knight Riders to title victories in 2012 and 2014. In IPL, he scored 4133 runs in 148 matches, at an average of 31.55.
