Gautam Gambhir reveals what was on his mind an hour before the World Cup 2011 final

Former India opening batsman Gautam Gambhir has played several memorable knocks in his cricketing career. However, the player's gutsy innings in the all-important 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium is hailed as one of his most special performances by many. On the 10-year anniversary of India's World Cup triumph, the ex-cricketer shed light on what his thought process was ahead of the ultimate clash. 

Gautam Gambhir reveals what was in his mind ahead of the 2011 World Cup final 

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the crucial toss and elected to bat first in the final. While the Indian bowlers rose to the occasion and came up with spectacular performances, it was Mahela Jayawardene who helped his side post a stiff total of 274 with his fighting century. The onus was on the Indian openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to provide the side with an impressive start to set the tone of the run-chase.

However, Virender Sehwag was dismissed without troubling the scorers and Sachin Tendulkar also had to take the long walk back after scoring 18 runs. Gautam Gambhir defied significant odds and played a stunning knock under pressure to help India stage a comprehensive victory in the contest. The player missed a well-deserved century as he was ultimately sent packing Thisara Perera when he was on 97.

In an exclusive interview with InsideSport, the cricketer-turned-politician revealed that he had left the World Cup hype in the hotel room itself. Gambhir pointed out that he was just thinking about the first delivery that he will face in the clash and he also stated that by that time, he had learnt to take the occasion out of an event. 

Apart from Gambhir's inspiring innings with the bat, the MS Dhoni World Cup 2011 final six was the other highlight of the India vs Sri Lanka World Cup final. The MS Dhoni World Cup 2011 six is etched in still etched in the memories of cricket lovers and Ravi Shastri's commentary piece from the final moments of the match further elevated the occasion. Yuvraj Singh was named as the Player of the Tournament for his stunning all-round performance 

2011 World Cup final Indian team

2011 World Cup final Indian team: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, S Sreesanth.

Gautam Gambhir stats in international cricket 

The Gautam Gambhir career stats composes of some staggering numbers. He has represented the Indian side in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is between 2003 and 2016. In Tests, the Delhi-based batsman aggregated 4,154 runs and in ODIs and T20Is, he compiled another 5,238 and 932 runs, respectively. The Gautam Gambhir career stats also composes of 20 centuries and 56 half-centuries across international formats.

Image source: Gautam Gambhir Instagram