Gautam Gambhir
Encyclopedia
Gautam Gambhir (born 14 October 1981, in Delhi
) is an Indian cricket
er, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team
since 2003 (ODIs) and 2004 (Tests
). Gambhir had been a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket with an average of over 50 but his two successive double-hundreds in 2002 (one of them against the visiting Zimbabweans) made him a strong contender for India's opening
slot. He became only the fourth Indian batsman to score a double century in a tour game at home; the previous three being Sunil Gavaskar
, Dilip Vengsarkar
and Sachin Tendulkar
. He is the only Indian batsman to score more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. He is also the only Indian, and one of only four international cricketers, to have scored five hundreds in five consecutive test matches. On July 2009, for a period of ten days he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings.
Gambhir was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy
in Bangalore
. He is set to tie knot with Natasha Jain, who belongs to a prominent business family based in Model Town
, in a simple ceremony in late 2011.
. His maiden century (103 off 97 balls) came against Sri Lanka in 2005. In 2004, he made his Test
debut against Australia
in the fourth and last Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy but did himself no favours by getting out for 3 and 1. He made amends in his second Test, however, scoring 96 against the South Africans. His maiden Test century came against Bangladesh in December 2004. Gambhir then made a number of starts in the home series against Pakistan in 2005, but was able to make only one half-century in six innings. He made 97 in Zimbabwe later that year, but failed to reach 30 against Sri Lanka at home, repeatedly struggling against Chaminda Vaas
, and was subsequently dropped from the Test team. He was replaced in Tests by Wasim Jaffer
, who made a double hundred and a hundred in seven Tests.
While Gambhir was out of the Test team, he played a number of One Day Internationals for India between 2005 and 2007. However, he was not selected for the 2007 Cricket World Cup
as the selectors opted for a top-order of Sourav Ganguly
, Virender Sehwag
, and Sachin Tendulkar
. After India's first-round exit from the tournament, Gambhir was selected for the One Day International on India's 2007 tour of Bangladesh
. Gambhir scored his second century on that tour and was subsequently selected for the One Day International on India's tour to Ireland in 2007
. He scored an unbeaten 80 against Ireland in the first game of that tour and was awarded the man of the match award for that effort. In the post-match interview, he indicated that performing more consistently was a top priority for his career as he had done so in the past.
Gambhir was selected in India's squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, which India went on to win in South Africa, beating Pakistan in the final. Gambhir performed well in the shortest form of the game, ending the tournament as India's top run scorer, with 227 at an average of 37.83, including three half-centuries which included a crucial 75 runs off 54 balls against Pakistan in the final.
2008 started well for Gambhir. At home, he scored an unbeaten 130 in the Ranji Trophy
final to help Delhi beat Uttar Pradesh
by nine wickets just two days before the team for the ODI tournament in Australia was to be announced.
Gambhir was forced to miss the Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury. In the 2007–08 CB Series, he scored an unbeaten 102 at The Gabba against Sri Lanka in a match washed out due to rain. Three weeks later at Sydney
, he scored a career-best 113 off 119 balls against Australia, in a high scoring match which India lost by 18 runs. He finished the CB series as the leading run-scorer with 440 runs.
In 2008 Gambhir finally solidified his place in the Indian Test team with a string of high scores. Opening the batting with Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag
, he scored 858 runs at over 61 in seven matches as of December including a double century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
. However in the same match he was involved in controversy when he was found to have thrown an elbow at Australia all-rounder Shane Watson
while taking a run. Gambhir denied the charges in a media conference on the day of the incident, claiming the elbowing was unintentional, but pleaded guilty in the disciplinary hearing and served a one-Test ban for the incident, replaced by Murali Vijay
. Despite missing the last match, Gambhir still topped the run-scorers list for both teams.
He was the leading run-scorer in the Test series against England in December 2008 and against New Zealand in early-2009, meaning that he had achieved this feat in three consecutive series.
Gambhir played his first major Test series outside the sub-continent, having toured New Zealand in 2009. In the second Test match he scored a match saving 137 in the second innings. He stood more than five sessions in the middle and faced over 430 balls. This innings led Virender Sehwag, Gambhir's opening partner, close friend and captain for the match, to call him 'The Second Wall' in reference to Rahul Dravid
. He then scored 167 in the second innings of the Third Test to give India an unassailable lead, but rain helped the New Zealand batsmen to hang on for a draw. Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, helped India win 1–0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years.
He was named as the ICC Test Player of the Year for 2009, and was briefly ranked the No. 1 batsman in the ICC rankings in July; at the time India were not playing Tests and his points rating did not change, but other batsmen who were ranked higher lost points before regaining them.
He continued his run in the late-2009 Test series against Sri Lanka at home. He scored a century in the second innings of the First Test in Ahmedabad to force a draw after the visitors had taken a first innings lead of more than 300, and then combined in a double century opening partnership with Sehwag on the first day of the Second Test in Kanpur, scoring 167 himself and helping India to score more than 400 runs on the opening day. This set up their score of 642 and an innings victory. Following the match, Gambhir returned to the top of the ICC rankings.
Gambhir withdrew from the Third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium
in Mumbai
in order to attend his sister's wedding. Vijay against stood in and scored 87 to help India win again by an innings.
He returned for the ODIs and scored an unbeaten 150 in the fourth match in Calcutta to help seal the series 3–1, guiding the hosts to victory in the run-chase.
In the First Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2009, Gambhir hit a rapid 116 from 129 balls. It was his fifth century in as many Tests and made him the fourth player to achieve this feat. Only Don Bradman has managed six centuries in as many matches.
In the 29th Test match against Bangladesh at Dhaka he rewrote the history of IVA Richards by scoring most fifties plus runs in 11 consecutive matches. In this match he scored 66 runs.
In the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011, Gambhir scored a solid knock of 97 from 122 balls. Coming in to bat in the first over after the dismissal of Sehwag, he anchored the Indian inning through the dismissals of Sachin Tendulkar
and Kohli, and put up a match-winning partnershipof 109 runs with Dhoni to ensure India lifted the Cup.
franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League
for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches.
He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils
for IPL Season 2010.At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils
to score more than 1000 runs in all the three editions.
In the 2011 IPL Players Auction
,Gautam was the most sought player fetching a bid of $2.4 million from Kolkata Knight Riders
making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of the game. He is also the captain of the Knight Riders.
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
) is an Indian cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, a batsman. He has been a member of the Indian national cricket team
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
since 2003 (ODIs) and 2004 (Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
). Gambhir had been a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket with an average of over 50 but his two successive double-hundreds in 2002 (one of them against the visiting Zimbabweans) made him a strong contender for India's opening
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
slot. He became only the fourth Indian batsman to score a double century in a tour game at home; the previous three being Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar is a former cricketer who played during the 1970s and 1980s for Bombay and India. Widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most Test runs and most Test centuries scored by any...
, Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Vengsarkar
Dilip Balwant Vengsarkar is an Indian cricketer and cricket administrator. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time, known as one of the foremost exponents of the drive. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'....
and Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
. He is the only Indian batsman to score more than 300 runs in four consecutive Test series. He is also the only Indian, and one of only four international cricketers, to have scored five hundreds in five consecutive test matches. On July 2009, for a period of ten days he was the number one ranked batsman in ICC Test rankings.
Early life
Gambhir attended Modern School, New Delhi.Gambhir was selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy
National Cricket Academy
The National Cricket Academy located in Chinnaswamy Stadium Bangalore, Karnataka in India, established in 2000 is a cricket facility of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for training young cricketers who are identified as having the potential to represent the Indian cricket team...
in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. He is set to tie knot with Natasha Jain, who belongs to a prominent business family based in Model Town
Model Town
Model Town may refer to:*Model Town, Kolkata*Model Town, Lahore is a suburb of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.*Model Town is a subdivision of North West Delhi, India*Model Town Humak, a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan...
, in a simple ceremony in late 2011.
International career
Gambhir made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in the TVS Cup in 2003. In his third match, he scored 71 and was named Man of the MatchMan of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
. His maiden century (103 off 97 balls) came against Sri Lanka in 2005. In 2004, he made his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut against Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in the fourth and last Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy but did himself no favours by getting out for 3 and 1. He made amends in his second Test, however, scoring 96 against the South Africans. His maiden Test century came against Bangladesh in December 2004. Gambhir then made a number of starts in the home series against Pakistan in 2005, but was able to make only one half-century in six innings. He made 97 in Zimbabwe later that year, but failed to reach 30 against Sri Lanka at home, repeatedly struggling against Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
, and was subsequently dropped from the Test team. He was replaced in Tests by Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman and an occasional right arm off-break bowler.-Early years:...
, who made a double hundred and a hundred in seven Tests.
While Gambhir was out of the Test team, he played a number of One Day Internationals for India between 2005 and 2007. However, he was not selected for the 2007 Cricket World Cup
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
as the selectors opted for a top-order of Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
, Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
, and Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
. After India's first-round exit from the tournament, Gambhir was selected for the One Day International on India's 2007 tour of Bangladesh
Indian cricket team in Bangladesh in 2007
The Indian cricket team toured Bangladesh for two Test matches and three One Day Internationals in May 2007. The first match was played on May 10, the first of three ODIs with India defeating Bangladesh by five wickets - less than two months after Bangladesh shocked India by defeating them by five...
. Gambhir scored his second century on that tour and was subsequently selected for the One Day International on India's tour to Ireland in 2007
2007 Future Cup
-2nd Match: Ireland vs South Africa: -1st Match: India vs South Africa: This was the first instance Sachin Tendulkar was out at 99 in his entire career.This match is featured in the background of the film Slumdog Millionaire-2nd Match: India vs South Africa:...
. He scored an unbeaten 80 against Ireland in the first game of that tour and was awarded the man of the match award for that effort. In the post-match interview, he indicated that performing more consistently was a top priority for his career as he had done so in the past.
Gambhir was selected in India's squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, which India went on to win in South Africa, beating Pakistan in the final. Gambhir performed well in the shortest form of the game, ending the tournament as India's top run scorer, with 227 at an average of 37.83, including three half-centuries which included a crucial 75 runs off 54 balls against Pakistan in the final.
2008 started well for Gambhir. At home, he scored an unbeaten 130 in the Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...
final to help Delhi beat Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh cricket team
The Uttar Pradesh cricket team is a cricket team which is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The team competes in the Ranji Trophy and won the tournament in 2005-06. They have only won 1 Ranji Trophy and have been runner-up twice. Young talents such as Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Piyush...
by nine wickets just two days before the team for the ODI tournament in Australia was to be announced.
Gambhir was forced to miss the Test series in Australia due to a shoulder injury. In the 2007–08 CB Series, he scored an unbeaten 102 at The Gabba against Sri Lanka in a match washed out due to rain. Three weeks later at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
, he scored a career-best 113 off 119 balls against Australia, in a high scoring match which India lost by 18 runs. He finished the CB series as the leading run-scorer with 440 runs.
In 2008 Gambhir finally solidified his place in the Indian Test team with a string of high scores. Opening the batting with Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag , affectionately known as Viru, the Nawab of Najafgarh, or the Zen master of modern cricket, is one of the leading batsmen in the Indian cricket team. Sehwag is an aggressive right-handed opening batsman and a part-time right-arm off-spin bowler...
, he scored 858 runs at over 61 in seven matches as of December including a double century against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series, played between India and Australia. It has witnessed some of the most competitive Test series played in recent years, with results usually either being a narrow win for one of the sides or a closely fought draw...
. However in the same match he was involved in controversy when he was found to have thrown an elbow at Australia all-rounder Shane Watson
Shane Watson
Shane Robert Watson is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast medium bowler. He mainly bats as an opener in international cricket, although he does not do so domestically....
while taking a run. Gambhir denied the charges in a media conference on the day of the incident, claiming the elbowing was unintentional, but pleaded guilty in the disciplinary hearing and served a one-Test ban for the incident, replaced by Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay
Murali Vijay Krishna is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed opening batsman for Tamil Nadu, Chennai Super Kings and India.-Test career:...
. Despite missing the last match, Gambhir still topped the run-scorers list for both teams.
He was the leading run-scorer in the Test series against England in December 2008 and against New Zealand in early-2009, meaning that he had achieved this feat in three consecutive series.
Gambhir played his first major Test series outside the sub-continent, having toured New Zealand in 2009. In the second Test match he scored a match saving 137 in the second innings. He stood more than five sessions in the middle and faced over 430 balls. This innings led Virender Sehwag, Gambhir's opening partner, close friend and captain for the match, to call him 'The Second Wall' in reference to Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
. He then scored 167 in the second innings of the Third Test to give India an unassailable lead, but rain helped the New Zealand batsmen to hang on for a draw. Gambhir, with 445 runs in six innings at an average of 89, helped India win 1–0 to script a series win in that country after 41 years.
He was named as the ICC Test Player of the Year for 2009, and was briefly ranked the No. 1 batsman in the ICC rankings in July; at the time India were not playing Tests and his points rating did not change, but other batsmen who were ranked higher lost points before regaining them.
He continued his run in the late-2009 Test series against Sri Lanka at home. He scored a century in the second innings of the First Test in Ahmedabad to force a draw after the visitors had taken a first innings lead of more than 300, and then combined in a double century opening partnership with Sehwag on the first day of the Second Test in Kanpur, scoring 167 himself and helping India to score more than 400 runs on the opening day. This set up their score of 642 and an innings victory. Following the match, Gambhir returned to the top of the ICC rankings.
Gambhir withdrew from the Third and final Test against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium
Brabourne Stadium
The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located on 90,000 square yards of reclaimed land along Marine Drive near Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai. The stadium is owned by the Cricket Club of India . Brabourne Stadium is India's first permanent...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
in order to attend his sister's wedding. Vijay against stood in and scored 87 to help India win again by an innings.
He returned for the ODIs and scored an unbeaten 150 in the fourth match in Calcutta to help seal the series 3–1, guiding the hosts to victory in the run-chase.
In the First Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2009, Gambhir hit a rapid 116 from 129 balls. It was his fifth century in as many Tests and made him the fourth player to achieve this feat. Only Don Bradman has managed six centuries in as many matches.
In the 29th Test match against Bangladesh at Dhaka he rewrote the history of IVA Richards by scoring most fifties plus runs in 11 consecutive matches. In this match he scored 66 runs.
In the final of the Cricket World Cup 2011, Gambhir scored a solid knock of 97 from 122 balls. Coming in to bat in the first over after the dismissal of Sehwag, he anchored the Indian inning through the dismissals of Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
and Kohli, and put up a match-winning partnershipof 109 runs with Dhoni to ensure India lifted the Cup.
Indian Premier League
Gambhir was picked up by the Delhi DaredevilsDelhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils is the Delhi franchise for the Indian Premier League in cricket. The franchise is owned by the GMR Group.-Franchise history:...
franchise in the first player auction of the Indian Premier League
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner...
for a price of US$725,000 a year. He became the second highest run-scorer of the inaugural season with 534 runs from 14 matches.
He was promoted to the post of Captain of the Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils is the Delhi franchise for the Indian Premier League in cricket. The franchise is owned by the GMR Group.-Franchise history:...
for IPL Season 2010.At the end of the tournament he became the only player from Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils
Delhi Daredevils is the Delhi franchise for the Indian Premier League in cricket. The franchise is owned by the GMR Group.-Franchise history:...
to score more than 1000 runs in all the three editions.
In the 2011 IPL Players Auction
2011 IPL Players Auction
The players auction for the 2011 Indian Premier League was held on January 8 and 9 2011 at the ITC Royal Gardenia, Bangalore. The auction comprised 350 players put for auction in English auction. Each player in the auction pool had a bidding base price under which franchise owners could not bid...
,Gautam was the most sought player fetching a bid of $2.4 million from Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders
Kolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket tournament. Sourav Ganguly led the team in IPL1 and IPL3, Brendon McCullum in IPL2, and Gautam Gambhir in IPL4...
making him the highest paid cricketer in the history of the game. He is also the captain of the Knight Riders.
List of Test centuries
| No. | Score | Minutes | Balls | 4s | 6s | S/R | Opposition | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 139 | 286 | 196 | 19 | 0 | 70.91 | Chittagong (MAA) | 17 Dec 2004 | |
| 2. | 104 | 219 | 138 | 7 | 1 | 75.36 | Mohali | 17 Oct 2008 | |
| 3. | 206 | 550 | 380 | 26 | 1 | 54.21 | Delhi | 29 Oct 2008 | |
| 4. | 179 | 466 | 348 | 25 | 1 | 51.43 | Mohali | 19 Dec 2008 | |
| 5. | 137 | 643 | 436 | 18 | 0 | 31.42 | Napier | 26 Mar 2009 | |
| 6. | 167 | 352 | 257 | 16 | 2 | 64.98 | Wellington | 3 Apr 2009 | |
| 7. | 114 | 337 | 230 | 13 | 0 | 49.56 | Ahmedabad | 20 Nov 2009 | |
| 8. | 167 | 298 | 215 | 15 | 0 | 77.67 | Kanpur | 24 Nov 2009 | |
| 9. | 116 | 200 | 129 | 10 | 1 | 89.92 | Chittagong | 20 Jan 2010 | |