5 precious World Cup final innings without a century

Enter — Aaron Finch and Steve Smith during the 2015 World Cup

2. Gautam Gambhir 97 vs Sri Lanka, 2011 World Cup final

Gautam Gambhir had played one of the greatest innings in a World Cup final, soaking the pressure in a tremendous pressure among a high voltage Mumbai crowd. Chasing a competitive score of 275 in a final, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar both had been sent back in a little more than six overs. It was up to the middle order batsmen to take some calculated risk, build partnerships and get them the required stability.

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir built a much-needed partnership in a brisk pace. The batsmen put on 83 for the third wicket. Tillakaratne Dilshan was brought into the attack and he dismissed Kohli for 35. Nevertheless, Gautam Gambhir was solid in his innings of 97 off 122 deliveries which included 9 boundaries. He was castled by Thisara Perera in the 42nd over almost before seeing his team home and winning the ultimate prize.

Earlier in the day, Mahela Jayawardene had scored a glorious century with Dilshan and Sangakkara making some useful contributions. Thisara Perera provided the much-needed arsenal of power hitting in the slog overs which got Sri Lanka to 274, which looked unassailable at that time.

About the author

Aayushman is a cricket journalist at Sportskeeda who covers news, features and listicles. A Finance graduate with a diploma in journalism, he has a total work experience of around 7 years and has bylines at reputed websites like Free Press Journal, Cricket Addictor, and Roar. Aayushman believes in presenting all the relevant information and facts in his articles to let the readers form their own opinions. His exploits in the industry have led to interview former Australia stalwart David Hussey.

A former Tata Consultancy Services employee, Aayushman has been supporting the Australian men's national team after being impressed with their aggressive and never-say-die attitude in the 2003 ICC World Cup. His favorite cricketer is Steve Smith, whose tremendous self-belief in his methods, despite them being unorthodox, inspire him a lot. Smith’s performances from 2019 Ashes Series only fueled this inspiration further. He would like to revisit the 2015 ICC World Cup semi-final clash between India and Australia if ever got hold of a time machine.

When not working, Aayushman loves to spend his spare time reading fiction books and watching one of his favorite television shows Grey's Anatomy.

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Edited by Vignesh Ananthasubramanian