When Gilly stole the thunder at the Oval

Bridgetown, Barbados: Trapped in the bowels of what felt like a haunted house, Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene felt a chill go down his spine. Adam Gilchrist had just sent the ball into orbit - his sixth sixer - and Jayawardene wondered if his torment would ever end.

Why did the rest of the world always have to come so close to the Cup only to find their grip being pried away by the Aussies? Why, of all people, did Adam Gilchrist, who was battling a bout of bad form, have to turn up as both judge and jury and execute his bowlers without a trial and not even a hint of remorse?

The answer sadly faded away in between the 13th boundary and the eighth six of Gilchrist's turbo-charged century 149 in the World Cup final on Saturday. Gilchrist's knock made a statement of its own: that at the defining moment for a country and a team, the world champions generally looked to one man for salvation. On Saturday, he was that man.

It seemed that Gilchrist, by his own admission, had gone for a little walk in the park during this World Cup. A mediocre run of form suggested that he was feeling the weight of his 35 years, even as a few of his contemporaries were packing their bags to leave the house.

Not factored in

But then, he suddenly showed up in the final. The weatherman had forgotten to factor in Gilchrist when making the daily report. Soon there was thunder and lightning emanating from his bat - interspersed by intermittent showers of fours and sixes. It was as if he was pouring all the scorn and torment of his under-performance at the World Cup on to the pitch. It was scary, but beautiful to watch. There were piercing drives, nifty cover drives, sublime straight drives, impudent flicks, defiant pulls, controlled hooks and finally, just to signify that he was human, a careless edge. The process was then repeated all over again.

As Gilchrist said later, "It meant a great deal. Not in terms of the contribution but it has been a frustrating tournament for me personally. I had a few low scores. I didn't want to be in another big partnership with Matty (Hayden) without really nailing a big one myself."

The knock was also ratified by his captain Ponting. "He hasn't played a better one. To score 149 in 104 balls in a World Cup final is special and I hope that headline is not missed. It's one of the greatest innings I've ever seen. Matty (Hayden) was scratching about in his knock. There was just one difference between the two teams today and it was Adam. To be able to take the game away like that was special stuff."

Like any accomplished sportsman playing in a team of super-achievers, Gilchrist believes that there is no room for failure beyond a certain point.

"I was talking to Tony Cozier at the dais during the final presentation and I was telling him that the standards this team sets are so high (which is brilliant!), it means that if you even feel that you are not meeting those standards you start putting pressure on yourself and maybe even doubt yourself. But there is belief from your teammates and the coaching staff. This allowed me to go and play with that freedom today."