Gautam Gambhir turns 39: A look at his splendid feats
Indian legend Gautam Gambhir turned 39 on Wednesday. One of the finest left-handed batsmen in world cricket, Gambhir, rightly earned the 'match-winner' tag. He was the chief architect of India's title-clinching victories at the 2007 World T20 and 2011 World Cup. Meanwhile, his heroics in the whites helped India seal monumental wins overseas, during his time. Here are his splendid feats.
A look at his international career
In a career spanning nearly 13 years, Gambhir bolstered Team India's top order across formats. He also became the mainstay opener in the Test format alongside his compatriot Virender Sehwag. In 58 Tests, he racked up 4,154 runs at a formidable average of 41.95, including nine tons. He also registered 5,238 ODI and 932 T20I runs in his career.
Highest partnership runs in Test cricket for India (opening pair)
Notably, Gambhir and Sehwag still own the highest partnership runs for India in Test cricket (by an opening pair). Together, they have aggregated 4,412 runs at 52.52 for the first wicket. Overall, this is the second-highest runs tally (partnership) for India after Tendulkar-Dravid (6,920).
Five tons in consecutive Test matches
Gambhir hit the purple patch between 2008 and 2011, having accomplished several milestones. In 2010, he became the first Indian cricketer to slam five tons in consecutive Tests. This is the joint-second highest tally along with Mohammad Yousuf and Jacques Kallis, after Don Bradman (6). Among Indians, only Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have smashed four such hundreds.
Leading run-scorer in three consecutive Test series (2008/09)
In 2008/09, Gambhir emerged as the leading run-scorer in three consecutive Test series against Australia, England and New Zealand. He also played an instrumental role as India registered their first Test series win in New Zealand after 1968.
Gambhir led KKR to two IPL titles
Besides scoring plethora of runs in international cricket, Gambhir also rose to prominence as an astute leader. After representing Delhi Capitals in the first half of his IPL career, Gambhir moved to Kolkata Knight Riders. Under him, KKR went on to clinch two titles in 2012 and 2014 respectively. During his long-standing IPL career, Gambhir amassed 4,217 runs from 154 matches at 31.23.
Indeed, a true legend!
Although Gambhir scaled some prodigious heights, his two special knocks will always stand out. One of them was recorded on September 24 (2007), wherein his 54-ball 75 helped India lift the inaugural World T20 trophy. Four years later, an audacious 97 (122) at Wankhede finally ended India's quest for a second (50-over) World Cup title. The Indian legend certainly left a remarkable legacy behind!
