Gautam Gambhir reveals the secret behind his success in World Cup finals

Gautam Gambhir feels fortunate to be part of two World Cup winning teams.

Gautam Gambhir played in two World Cups for India | Getty Images

Gautam Gambhir, who recently hung up his boots from the game of cricket, feels fortunate to be part of World Cup-winning Indian Team and got the opportunity of doing something special for his country.

While revealing how he approached the two World Cup finals, Gambhir said it was all about the contest that has always been between the bowler and the batsmen whether be it World Cup or another game.

Gambhir, who played a key role in India triumph in the World Cup titles in 2007 World T20 and 2011 50-over World Cup, believes that the key is not to think about the occasions, but in handling pressure and overcoming a bad phase is to not let the occasion get the better of him.

The southpaw was the top-scorer in the summit clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup, as well as, was the top-scorer for India in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka.

While addressing the Republic Summit in Mumbai on Wednesday, Gambhir said, “You can't let the occasions get better of you. It's still the contest between the ball and the bat, whether it is the World Cup final or it's any other game. It is difficult to accept that is another game of cricket but that is what a sports person needs to think and that is how I prepared myself.”

The 37-year-old continued, “Ultimately whether it is the World Cup final or the first game of the World Cup, the contest is not the World Cup final, the contest is between the bowler and the batsmen. So ultimately, I have to beat the next ball I am playing and I have got to do the best of whatever I could of the next particular delivery. So that's how I approached both the World Cup finals rather than thinking about the platform or occasion, it is about watching the ball and reacting to it.”

Gambhir said it was his childhood dream to represent his country in the World Cup and even did it twice. He signed off by saying, “When I was growing as a kid, it was my dream to be part of a World Cup winning team. The first World Cup of any sort, which I played was in 2007 and ended up being part of the winning team. So very fortunate because I got the opportunity of doing something special for the country, not once but twice.”

(With Press Trust of India Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 20 Dec, 2018

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