“I wish I had finished that game” - Gautam Gambhir opens up on the one regret he has from his playing career
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has admitted that he regrets not being there at the end when the Men in Blue won the 2011 ODI World Cup final. The 42-year-old said that it was his job to finish the game and not to leave it to someone else.
India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede in Mumbai. Chasing a target of 275, the hosts lost Virender Sehwag (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (18) with only 31 on the board. Gambhir, though, top-scored with 97 off 122, while skipper MS Dhoni led from the front with 91* off 79.
While he played a brilliant innings, a rush of blood saw Gambhir being bowled by Thisara Perera with the score at 223. Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh (21*), though, ensured that the Men in Blue got home without any further trouble.
At an event organized by the Indian Chambers of Commerce in Kolkata on Friday, June 21, Gambhir opened up about his knock in the 2011 World Cup final and said that he regrets not hitting the winning runs.
"I wish I had finished that game. It was my job to finish the game, rather than leaving someone to finish the game. If I had to turn back the clock, I would go back there and score the last run, irrespective of how many runs I scored," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Despite not getting a hundred, Gambhir's knock went a long way in ensuring India's victory in the 2011 World Cup final. The left-hander hit nine fours in his workman-like innings before being bowled by Perera. Dhoni, though, was named the Player of the Final for his exceptional innings under pressure.
"No regrets whatsoever" - Gautam Gambhir on short India captaincy stint
During his playing days, Gambhir was often touted as a potential leader. However, he only ended up captaining the country in six one-dayers. The former opener, though, has no regrets about his brief captaincy stint. Reflecting on the same, the KKR mentor commented:
"I have always thought about performing for the fans, and that has been my thought since the last year of my training career. In the middle, I got this honor of captaining India for six games. I tried doing it to the best of my ability.
"Otherwise, I have no regrets whatsoever because my job was not to captain the series. My job was to make my country win, and whichever team I play for, make that team win," he added.
Under Gambhir's captaincy, India thumped New Zealand 5-0 in an ODI series at home in December 2010. He also led the Men in Blue in a one-dayer against West Indies in December 2011 in Chennai, which the hosts won by 34 runs.