In an interview with RevSportz earlier this year, former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir had admitted that Indian Premier League 2014 was the only time when he was put under pressure throughout a decorated career spanning across almost a couple of decades.
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Known to stand tall on his potential in high-pressure knockout matches, Gambhir claimed to have completely avoided a “single negative thought” even after India lost both their openers during ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium.
However, scoring a solitary run across four IPL 2014 innings affected him mentally because he wasn’t doing well individually unlike the 2011 World Cup. Leading Kolkata Knight Riders at the time, Gambhir had registered three ducks in a row only to follow it with scoring a run in the fourth outing.
“In fact, the only time I felt pressure was in 2014 when I got three consecutive ducks for KKR in Dubai as captain. That’s when I felt pressure. I then got one in the fourth innings and was ashamed of my efforts. That was pressure. You feel the pressure when things don’t go well for you. Not when things are right, and you are on a roll. In the fourth match, I asked Manish Pandey to open the innings and batted at No. 3 myself. Manish was scoring, and I did this because I was scared. I have no hesitation in accepting I was insecure and scared. However, Manish was out without scoring and I got out for 1. I told Manish, ‘I would never again do this’, and decided to take things head on. I was feeling the pressure. I was nervous. But then that’s what mental strength and courage is all about. You need to face up to the toughest challenges. In our next game, I opened the batting and smashed the first ball from Kane Richardson for four. Perhaps the most important four of my IPL career. That’s when things changed again,”, Gambhir told RevSportz.
Facing the legendary Lasith Malinga in KKR’s season opener against Mumbai Indians, Gambhir was bowled after not scoring a run across eight balls. In the second match against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Gambhir faced four balls for the same result before being dismissed by Nathan Coulter-Nile.
Come the third match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gambhir produced a golden duck as he was caught plumb in front of the wickets against Mitchell Starc. Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), pacer Sandeep Sharma dismissed the left-handed batter in the fourth match.
It was in Kolkata’s fifth match against Rajasthan Royals when Gambhir hit Kane Richardson for a boundary to find his groove back. However, it hadn’t happened off the first delivery as claimed by him in the aforementioned interview. Batting on 5* (4) including facing a dot off Richardson, it was on the second delivery of the second over when Gambhir hit the Aussie bowler for a boundary, his first in his fifth innings of the season, between cover and point.
Gautam Gambhir Never Got Going In IPL Matches Played Outside India
Gautam Gambhir, who scored 45 (44) in a losing cause against RR in Abu Dhabi, ended a dissatisfying UAE leg of the seventh IPL season with 46 runs coming at an average and strike rate of 9.20 and 74.19 respectively.
Even though he registered another single-digit score upon returning home, three successive half-centuries was his only personal highlight of a season in which he became only the second captain after Chennai Super Kings‘ Mahendra Singh Dhoni to lift the IPL trophy for the second time.
Played in South Africa 14 years ago, Gambhir was Daredevils’ fourth-highest run-scorer on the back of scoring 286 runs at an underwhelming average and strike rate of 22 and 102.87 respectively in a season when he captained for the first time in the biggest T20 league across the globe. As a captain, however, Gambhir had led the franchise to three wins and a loss in the absence of injured Virender Sehwag.
