The fighting character of out of favour Indian opener Gautam Gambhir was on display yet again during a Ranji Trophy match against Assam where the southpaw led from the front and smashed his 40th first-class century on Saturday. He was at his imperious best, and after seeing off the initial threat, he started dominating the Assam bowlers at will.
The southpaw brought up his century in just 179 deliveries and also struck 17 fours in the process during the Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy clash between Delhi and Assam. Gambhir was very patient, to begin with. He struggled a bit and was beaten quite a few times, but as he started spending more time in the middle, the southpaw gained in confidence.
He executed some delightful shots especially through the square of the wicket and also in front of the wicket. Despite his impressive form in the domestic circuit, an Indian comeback looks highly unlikely as the bench strength of India at present is perhaps is the best. Shikhar Dhawan could only force his way into the team in the absence of Murali Vijay, and it remains to be seen which two players open the innings when Dhawan, Vijay and KL Rahul are all fit at the same time.
In his first-class career so far, Gambhir has smashed more than 14,000 runs in 186 matches at an impressive average of 48.97. His career-best score is 233. Besides his 40 first-class centuries, the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper has also struck 65 fifties. Winning the toss, Delhi put Assam in, and the bowlers were right on the money. Ishant Sharma bagged a five-wicket haul as Delhi bowled out Assam for 258 in the 1st innings.
Delhi lost two quick wickets, but it was twin centuries from Gambhir and Nitish Rana which helped them reach 269/4 at the end of Day 2. While Rana was dismissed on 110, Gambhir remained unbeaten on 136 and will be looking to carry on from where left on Day 2.