5 World Cup innings by Indians that created a buzz in the cricketing world

#4 Gautam Gambhir's 97 vs Sri Lanka

97 (122 balls, 9 fours ), Wankhede 2011

Gautam Gambhir is considered to be the crisis man for the Indian cricket team. Often people forget his contributions in some of the most vital games, and 2011 final is one of them. Sri Lanka opted to bat first and posted a healthy total of 274 on the day of the final, with Mahela Jayawardene scoring a match-winning 103.

India needed a good partnership to set the tone of the match, but Malinga had other plans. Both Sehwag and Sachin were back in the hut in the first 6 overs. Gambhir slowly poised his game and steadied the innings with Virat. He reached his fifty off 56 balls and made sure that India was back on track. In came Dhoni next, after Virat's dismissal and the coupled stretched a century partnership before Gambhir got knocked off 3 short of a ton. It was a standout performance and one of the most underrated innings that people tend to forget.

Match Summary

Sri Lanka 274/6 (M Jayawardene 103*, K Sangakkara 48, Yuvraj 2/49)

India 277/4 (MS Dhoni 91*, G Gambhir 97, L Malinga 2/42)