"I was only thinking about what we needed to chase" - Gautam Gambhir recalls 2011 World Cup final knock
Gautam Gambhir was one of the key architects of India's 2011 World Cup final victory over Sri Lanka at the Wankhdede Stadium in Mumbai. The opener scored 97 runs, helping his side secure a six-wicket win while chasing a tricky 275-run target.
The southpaw narrowly missed out on a well-deserved century, losing his wicket to Thisara Perera while trying to play a big shot. Speaking about his dismissal, Gambhir mentioned that he wasn't disappointed at failing to cross the 100-run mark. He stated that his sole focus was on the target that India needed to reach to win the final.
In a video shared by the BCCI on its website, the cricketer-turned-coach said (from 15:00):
"The only way you can plan a run chase is when you are not looking at your individual score, you are looking at what you need to achieve and where you need to reach. What is the target where you want to be? That is what I actually found in the 2011 World Cup final.
"When people ask me about did I had to play that shot or why did I play that shot, the reason that I played that shot is that before that shot, I was only thinking about what we needed to chase."
Suggesting that he was more upset at letting the opposition claim a breakthrough, Gambhir added:
"The moment you reach 97, you start thinking I'm just one shot away from getting my own milestone and how am I going to celebrate, the first Indian to score a hundred in a World Cup final. And the disappointment was not missing out on a hundred, the disappointment was giving the opposition a breather."
India were off to a shaky start with the bat in the 2011 World Cup final, losing their top-order big guns early. Gautam Gambhir steered the ship out of the choppy waters with his knock. Skipper MS Dhoni also shone with the bat, delivering an unbeaten 91-run knock.
Virat Kohli opens up on how he approaches run chases during his chat with Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli is arguably among the greatest finishers in ODI cricket and has earned the moniker of 'Chase Master' for consistently helping his team cross the line. In the aforementioned video featuring Gautam Gambhir, the ace batter stated that clarity is the most important thing during chases.
The 35-year-old said (from 14:04)
"The biggest factor for all of us being in this environment is that we want to win. From that motivation, everything starts working backwards. I've had many young guys come to me and ask me how do you do the calculation in a chase. I always tell them that for me, a chase has always been clarity."
Kohli emphasized the importance of playing according to the situation. He opined that a player cannot have the mindset where he just wants to play his natural game, irrespective of what's needed, adding:
"You know exactly what you need to do. And if your motivation is to win, you will find a way. You can't say, 'This is the way I play, and great if we get to the result.' For me, it's always been I want the result first, and if that requires me to play aggressive cricket, I'll play aggressive cricket, if it requires me to run, play shots on the ground, I'll play shots on the ground.
"If it requires me to leave the ball for three hours, I will leave the ball for three hours. If you don't want that victory so badly, you will not be able to work out the solution."
Virat Kohli will next be in action during India's upcoming two-match home Test series against Bangladesh. The first Test will be played in Chennai from Thursday, September 19. It will be Gautam Gambhir first's Test assignment as India's head coach.