"I was ashamed of myself" - Gautam Gambhir reveals the only time when he felt pressure
Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir has claimed that he only felt pressure to score runs once in his entire career and that was during the 2014 edition of the IPL. Gambhir has played some incredible knocks for India, like the 75 in the 2007 T20 World Cup final and the 97 in the 2011 World Cup final.
However, Gambhir claimed that his three consecutive ducks during IPL 2014 put him under immense pressure and he couldn't face the first ball in the fourth game. He recalled being ashamed of himself for asking Manish Pandey to open the batting.
Speaking to RevSportz, here's what Gautam Gambhir had to say about that incident:
"The only time I felt pressure was in 2014 when I got three consecutive ducks for KKR [Kolkata Knight Riders] in Dubai as captain. In the fourth match, I asked Manish Pandey to open the innings and batted at No. 3 myself. Manish was scoring, and I did this because I was scared. I have no hesitation in accepting I was ashamed of myself.
"However, Manish was out without scoring and I got out for 1. I told Manish I would never again do this, and decided to take things head-on."
Gautam Gambhir further added:
"I was feeling the pressure. I was nervous. But then that’s what mental strength and courage are all about. You need to face up to the toughest challenges. In our next game, I opened the batting and smashed the first ball from Kane Richardson for four. Perhaps the most important four of my IPL career. That’s when things changed again."
2011 World Cup one of the highest points of my career: Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir claimed that while he also won the T20 World Cup in 2007, winning the 2011 World Cup at home and fulfilling the expectations of fans was a completely different feeling for him.
On this, he stated:
"In 2007, the T20 format wasn’t the format of choice. Yes, we won, but it was not the format we all excelled at. The 50-over World Cup was different. On home soil, the 2011 World Cup was the tournament that all of India was looking forward to.
"We had not won a 50-over World Cup for 28 years, and in every sense it was a very special occasion. To be able to do well for my team was a very satisfying thing for me, and will surely rank as one of the highest points in my career."
With the last two editions of the ODI World Cup won by the hosts, India will hope that they manage to keep the streak going in October-November this year.