Gautam Gambhir made his one-day debut in 2003 against Bangladesh but he had to wait for more than a year before making his first Test appearance, against Australia in November 2004. It took another four years to cement his place in the Test team. It has been a steady climb for this Delhi left-hander who recently claimed the No 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. The left-hander wasted no time in attributing his success in international cricket to his Delhi teammate and skipper Virender Sehwag.
Indeed, the Sehwag-Gambhir opening pair could go down as one of India’s best opening combinations, in terms of consistency, run-making and the ability to adapt to different formats of the game. The two have opened for Delhi, the IPL team Delhi Daredevils and for Team India. It is not often that you find the opening pair of a country playing for the same team from the domestic level upwards.
Gambhir has surely benefited from the presence of Sehwag at the other end. The 27-year-old began his international career on a shaky note, perhaps unsure of his position initially. Gambhir’s insecurity was mainly down to Sehwag’s absence from the Indian team. But ever since the two have come out together, it has been a different story. The presence of Sehwag has given Gambhir the necessary confidence. Explaining his successful partnership with Sehwag, Gambhir has often pointed out to the understanding between the duo. “We played a lot of cricket together. It is always good to have a good partnership and an understanding also off the field. I always have that extra confidence when Sehwag is batting at the other end,” he said. The left-hander, in fact, admitted that he missed the injured Sehwag during the World T20.
In the second phase of his career, Gambhir has learned to be patient and has added maturity to his game. He has tightened his technique and plays more freely, scoring with timing and placement.
It took nearly four years for Gambhir to score his second Test century after his first against Bangladesh in 2004. But his innings at Mohali against Australia in the second Test of the series was perhaps the turning point of his career. Gambhir did agree after that century that he was quite often stuck in the 60s and 70s. But in Mohali, he looked solid and more focussed. He went on to score a double century in the next Test at Delhi.
His heroics against Australia was followed by an equally successful home series against England and the tour of New Zealand, which proved a new high for the southpaw. It was during the tour of New Zealand that Gambhir saved the second Test for India with his marathon 11-hour innings of 137.
The gutsy performance earned Gambhir praise from his opening partner, Sehwag who proudly proclaimed him the second ‘Wall’ of India after Rahul Dravid. Gambhir’s effort in Napier was a victory for his impregnable defence and patience. After scaling the ICC Test rankings, Gambhir’s career seems to be heading the right way and he remains a batting mainstay of the Indian line-up.
das@epmltd.com
