By CricketCountry Staff

Melbourne: Dec 14, 2011

Gautam Gambhir, who scored his last Test century in 2010, stated that he is not thinking too much about his dip in form and is looking forward to give India a solid start against Australia when the first Test match starts on December 26.

“It is not that I'm not scoring runs. If I was getting out cheaply or getting very low scores, I would be thinking about it. Sometimes when you think too much about scoring a hundred, what happens is, you start getting desperate for it.

“I have always believed that when you open the batting you want to make the most of it; you want to score big runs. As an opening batsman you have to face the new ball and you never know what could happen in the next innings. But the most important thing is, you have to give (the team) decent starts,” Gambhir said in an interview to a top cricket website.

The 30-year-old admitted that lack of runs starts playing on one’s mind but if you let it affect your mind then scoring big runs gets difficult.

“When everyone keeps talking about how you have not scored a hundred, it plays on your mind. It is very difficult to take it out of your system. But as I said, if I keep thinking too much, I might not be able to score what I have been scoring and giving good starts. Then I would only be thinking about not scoring a hundred. You start from nought, and from nought to a hundred is a long, long journey.”

Gambhir said he is looking to contribute consistently to the team's cause rather than score in patches.

“There are so many great batsmen who did not score hundreds for a long time, but once it comes you end up scoring a lot of hundreds together. It is just incidental. Before scoring my second Test hundred against Australia, in Mohali, I had said I just needed one and I would try and get lots of hundreds.

“That was what happened: I scored five in five. And now there is a phase where I have not scored a hundred in a long time. But at least I have been scoring decently and I have been pretty consistent. I do not want to score a hundred in one innings followed by a lot of low scores. I would rather have four or five good, decent scores that will contribute to the team's cause.

“Honestly I have not discussed this with anyone because deep inside my heart I know my style and I have scored five consecutive hundreds in five Test matches. So I am not getting worried yet.”

The Delhi batsmen concede that upcoming Australian tour will be challenging as well as exciting.

“It is going to be a very challenging tour but exciting at the same time. As a cricketer you always want to do well in Australia, as that gives you a lot of satisfaction. It is a great place to play cricket. I played in the CB Series in 2008 and I did pretty well there, and this time I am looking forwarding to opening in Test cricket.

“Australia are one team that come hard at you all the time. They do not let you score runs easily. They are a tough team to crack and they have always done well under pressure. They have a good fast bowling attack, and even the crowd there is against you when they come hard at you, you need to have a lot of mental strength to tackle them.”

The Indian Premier League team Kolkata Knight Riders captain said Virender Sehwag’s double ton was a special innings for him.

“It is very special, even to me. Being the highest run-getter in ODI cricket is no doubt a great feeling. He has done the job whenever he has got the opportunity. Hopefully he can continue with this form in Australia.

“Test matches are a different ball game but he can take a lot of confidence from this 200 against West Indies because having runs under your belt is always good when you go on a tough tour. It puts us in a good position to give good starts.”