'I cried the entire night' - Gautam Gambhir recalls India’s defeat to Australia in 1992 World Cup

Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir revealed that he cried the entire night when Australia defeated India by one run in the 1992 ODI World Cup. Batting first, the Allan Border-led side started cautiously. Kapil Dev picked up the wickets of Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh, which put Australia on the backfoot but things quickly changed when David Bon and Dean Jones were batting. Boon made 43 runs while Jones hit 90 runs as Australia hit 237 runs in the first innings.

When it came to the chase, Kris Srikkanth failed to open his tally as India had an extremely slow start. That’s when Mohammad Azharuddin took control and made 93 runs off 102 deliveries. He didn’t get enough support from the other end, which put more pressure on the Men in Blue. Towards the end, Sanjay Manjrekar made 47 runs off 42 deliveries but it wasn’t enough. Both Azharuddin and Manjrekar were run out which further saddened the Indian fans.

Also Read - Gambhir acknowledges Rohit, Kohli's contributions after their T20I retirement

Recalling that, Gambhir mentioned that he never cried like that as he really wanted India to lift the trophy in 1992. They finished seventh in the nine-team tournament, ending their campaign disastrously. However, former India cricketer was happy that his dream came true in 2011, in which he played a vital role.

“After seeing a match, I wanted to win the World Cup for India. I remember the 1992 India-Australia World Cup game in Brisbane, which India lost by one run, and I actually remember that I cried the entire night. I have never cried like that before or after that, and I don't know why,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by OneCricket.

“I was an 11-year-old at that time. I cried the entire night and said that I wanted to win the World Cup for India. I said that in 1992 and I was able to fulfill that dream in 2011. I would have felt unhappy before or after that match but I didn't used to cry like that,” he added.