The Gilchrist final

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New Delhi: Big matches are often decided by moments of brilliance, a great catch or run out, a splendid bowling spell or an outstanding piece of batsmanship.

Adam Gilchrist crafted one of the best knocks seen in the World Cup, earning him the rare distinction of being the Man of the final.

Put a bat in Adam Gilchrist's hands and throw in the big match situation and the man can knock you down faster than Mike Tyson.

In this World Cup, he had played 10 matches and scored 304 runs before the final encounter. And all at sea against the moving ball in the semis, yet when the occasion demanded it, Gilchrist stepped up to the challenge and mounted an assault that would rival Sir Viv Richards for sheer savagery.

"I started off very frustrated that I haven't converted those 20s, 30s and 40s into a big score but great thing is Matthew Hayden has done that 4-5 times and then we had a batting strength coming in to capitalise on those starts," said Gilchrist.

So, that's the way this team operates. It was my turn today and Matty was fantastic in his support and encouragement of me.

A 104 balls after he walked out to bat. Gilchrist walked off the Kensington Oval with 149 to his name, not only was this the fastest 100 in a World Cup final, it was also the highest score in a World Cup final.

He also joined a selected list of batsmen who have scored centuries at the biggest stage of them all. Clive Lloyd in 1975, The King in 1979, Aravinda de Silva in 1996 and Punter Ponting in 2003 against India.

"It is really satisfying. I spin along a long campaign and there were question marks as we came into this tournament but the way we finished and the character that we have shown, it is really satisfying," said Gilchrist.

At 35 this is probably Gilchrist's last World Cup but what a record he has. Two 50's and now a big hundred and he has been a source of inspiration to many wicketkeepers around the world. In fact, changing the definition of a wicketkeeper.

This will be remembered as The Gilchrist Final.