After losing the early wickets of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar while chasing a steep target of 274 against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final, India steadied the ship through a solid partnership between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir. When Kohli was dismissed in the 22nd over, everyone expected the in-form Yuvraj Singh to walk out to bat. But, it was MS Dhoni who came out to bat and it left the spectators and the opposition flabbergasted.
The former Indian skipper had not shown great form going into the World Cup final and the decision to promote himself above the in-form Yuvraj Singh seemed baffling at the time. But the move turned out to be a masterstroke and Dhoni went on to play a match-winning knock of 91 off just 79 deliveries to complement Gambhir’s 97 to help India lift the trophy for the second time in history.
During a recent chat with Times of India, Tendulkar and Sehwag recalled how the team came up with that key decision to move Dhoni up the order.
ALSO READ: ICC Statement Reveals Positive News on World Cup 2020
Sachin said, “The partnership between Gautam and Virat was flourishing and we wanted to be a couple of steps ahead of the opposition. That’s when I told Viru … ‘if a left-hander (Gautam) gets out now, a left-hander (Yuvi) should go in, and if a right-hander (Virat) gets out, a right-hander (Dhoni) should go in. Yuvi was in tremendous form but Sri Lanka had two off-spinners going, so I thought a strategy change would work.”
Shewag added, “He was right. The left-right combination needed to continue. That change in strategy completely caught the Sri Lankans off guard.”
Sachin also explained that he was no different to the TV spectators who choose not to move from their spot when their team is doing well.
The batting legend said, “Gautam was batting brilliantly and someone like Dhoni could’ve kept rotating the strike. So I told Viru, Just go out into the balcony between the overs only to say this much to MS and come back fast before the next over begins. I’m not moving from here)..”
ALSO READ: ICC Not In Hurry Of Finalizing Men’s T20 World Cup
On the other hand, Sehwag said, “Before he could even complete his sentence, we saw MS walking into the dressing room. So, that’s when he (Sachin) repeated the same thing to MS, in front of me.” Sachin concluded, “I asked MS to consider this strategy. He then went to Gary (Kirsten), who was sitting outside. Then Gary came in and all four of us got talking about it. Gary too agreed it was the right thing to do, given the attack on hand.”
The decision paid off and India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets, with more than an over to spare. As a result, India went on to lift the coveted trophy after 28 years in 2011.
