In the history of ODI cricket, men in blue have managed to lift the coveted World Cup trophy two times, once in 1983 and the second triumph came in 2011. Both were memorable for the players in their own respect but one moment which stands out is the definitely the monstrous six that came off the bat off the former India captain MS Dhoni.
Today, seven years ago, April 2, 2011, India won the World Cup final against Sri Lanka. With ten balls remaining at the Wankhede Stadium, then-skipper MS Dhoni ended India’s quest for the world cup with a humungous six over the bowler’s head at long-on. Incidentally, Dhoni has been conferred with the Padma Bhushan by the President of India on April 2, 2018.
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The effect of that winning six sent the whole stadium into delirium sparking tears of joy for both players and fans alike. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared the video on Twitter and brought back the memories of that moment which remains etched onto every ardent Indian cricket lover’s hearts.
First Indian citizen to go to space and first Indian citizen to launch a cricket ball into the orbit to lift the 🏆 – #ThisDayThatYear #RakeshSharma #MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/8zaj6afYjs
— BCCI (@BCCI) April 2, 2018
Winning the toss, Mahela Jayawardene (103*) scored a brilliant unbeaten hundred along with some useful contributions Kumar Sangakkara ably supporting him with a 67-ball 48. The duo helped Sri Lanka post 274/6 in their allotted 50 overs. Pacer Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh picked two wickets each.
Also read: Indian World Cup Heroes Remember The Great Day!
Chasing a daunting target of 275, which was never chased in a World Cup final, India needed to rewrite history, India was off to a disastrous start after the Sri Lankan bowlers sent both openers Virender Sehwag (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (18) back to the pavilion early and the hosts were struggling at 31/2. Gautam Gambhir played a superb knock of 97 runs off 122 balls and shared an 83-run partnership stand with Virat Kohli (35) for the third wicket.
Promoting himself above Yuvraj Singh in the batting order, Dhoni came in after Kohli’s dismissal lost his wicket to Tillakaratne Dilshan. Dhoni (91*) and Gambhir built a partnership of 109 runs for the fourth wicket to take India to a comfortable position. And rest as they say is history.
#WATCH Billiards player Pankaj Advani and Cricketer MS Dhoni conferred with Padma Bhushan by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi pic.twitter.com/XgPTHWsxBl
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2018
