Gautam Gambhir holds MS Dhoni responsible for missing out on World Cup 2011 final ton

Former India cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who laid the foundation of India’s victory in the final of 2011 World Cup on April 2, revealed to a leading Indian media daily on Saturday, November 16, the reason he could not get three more runs to complete his century against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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After Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were dismissed, Gambhir partnered with Virat Kohli to resurrect the Indian innings. However, Kohli fell for 35 and the southpaw was then joined by Indian captain MS Dhoni. The duo went on to stitch a 109-run partnership before Gambhir was ultimately dismissed by Thisara Perera in the 42nd over of the match for 97.

Dhoni's reminder the reason behind my dismissal: Gambhir

On his dismissal in the World Cup final, Gambhir said Dhoni’s reminder of his upcoming personal milestone was the reason he missed out on his century in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against Sri Lanka.

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Speaking to a media portal, the former Indian opener said that he has been asked this question many times and said that before getting to 97, he had never thought about his individual score but looked at the target set by Sri Lanka.

He added that when an over was completed, he and Dhoni were at the crease. Dhoni told him that he needed three to complete his century.

Gambhir said suddenly when the mind starts thinking about individual performance and score, then somewhere a player tends to get a rush of blood. He went on to say before that moment, his focus was only on chasing Sri Lanka’s target but as soon as he thought about the three runs he needed to get a hundred, then that rush of blood caused by the desire to get to a hundred got the better of him.

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Through this revelation, Gambhir wished to emphasize the importance of remaining in the present. He added that when he was walking back to the dressing room after being dismissed, he said to himself that these three runs would haunt him for the rest of his life and that remains true. Even to this day, he is being asked about missing out on those three runs.

MS Dhoni went on to score an unbeaten 91 and stitched a 54-run partnership with Yuvraj Singh. He won the game by hitting a huge maximum and made India the world champions after a break of 28 long years.

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