Dhoni finishes off in style! A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years!, The Party starts in the dressing and it’s the Indian captain who has been absolutely magnificent in the night of the final….” These words by the player-turned-commentator and the current Indian cricket team headcoach Ravi Shastri will echo in the minds of Indian cricket fans throughout their life! Mahendra Singh Dhoni was at his very best as the Indian captain applied his trademark finishing touches in the 2011 World Cup final as the Indian captain MS Dhoni hit the winning runs by striking a memorable six and lead India to lift the coveted trophy. After all, April 2, 2011, is a monumental day in the history of Indian cricket.
Losing the toss, the match did not begin the way Indian fans expected as Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeping captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and decided to have a bat first. Indian bowlers kept bowling economical spells and picked up wickets at crucial moments of the match. However, Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene decided to stamp his own authority on the match. The Sri Lankan Batsman rose on the occasion and rescued his team from a situation of crisis. Building his innings gradually, Mahela Jayawardene scored a scintillating 103* off just 88 balls, Mahela’s knock helps the fellow co-hosts put up a respectable score of 275 runs on the board. The Indian team was all set to chase down the 275 under the lights and be crowned World Champions once again after a long wait of 28 Years.
The Wankhede crowd erupted in cheer as they say the dynamic duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag walk out to bat in the finals of the world cup for one last time. The crowd went bonkers as they had their famous son, the lord of the land and Mumbai’s very own Sachin Tendulkar walking out to bat. The maxed-out full house 40,000- crowd of Wankhede and the whole of India expected a fairy tale story in the making of seeing the Indian maestro play a match-winning innings in what was Sachin’s 6th attempt to lift the World Cup trophy at his home ground.
Nonetheless, Sri Lanka’s fast bowler Lasith Malinga and Sachin’s Mumbai Indian teammate decided to play the devil on the humongous occasion. Malinga caught Virender Sehwag plumb in front in just the 2nd ball of India’s chase and also dismissed the Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar in his final appearance of the World Cup break the hearts of a million Cricket fans all across the globe. The Indian team’s ship was tipping over and close to drowning as the hosts were reduced to 31/2 within 7 overs. Sri Lanka held a firm grip over the match right now as the Indian team was under extreme pressure.
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After Sachin’s dismissal, the Wankhede crowd went dead silent as a young 22-year-old Virat Kohli walked out to join Gautam Gambhir on the crease. The young Kohli was still vouching to cement his place in the Indian team setup and the young lad from Delhi did just that. Kohli and Gautam Gambhir began to steady India’s ship and stitched up a crucial 83 run partnership. the duo did not let the pressure get to them as they rotated the strike and punished the poor balls for boundaries.
Despite playing to the best of his abilities, the current Indian skipper fell victim to Dilshan after scoring 35 in the finals. Kohli’s dismissal was the biggest turning point in the game as the Indian captain decided to promote himself up the batting order and walked out on the biggest night of his career instead of India’s usual No.4 and most consistent player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh.
Soaking up the initial pressure, Dhoni allowed Gambhir to play his own game without any pressure as the duo reduced the required target below 100. As soon the victory seemed comfortable to the Indian cricket team, there came another twist in the tale as Gambhir chopped one back onto the stumps after walking down the pitch. The player-turned-politician ended his valiant stay at the creases with 97 runs on board in what should have been a brilliant much-deserved century. Nevertheless, Gambhir’s knock is still regarded as one of the finest innings in World Cup history.
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The MS Dhoni carnival soon began after he was joined by the cancer-battling warrior of India, Yuvraj Singh. Just like his trademark style of accelerating games, Dhoni began to push harder and started scoring at a higher striker rate. Just like what Dhoni has done so many times while India is chasing, Dhoni hits the winning runs by scoring a six off Nuwan Kulasekara.
After hitting the winning shot and a big grin on his face mixed with a sigh of relief. Soon began the wave of Blue as all the players rushed out of the dugout and joined Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni in the middle of the pitch. Before joining his fellow teammates, MS Dhoni picked up a stump to remark on the memorable victory and keep a souvenir for the moment he had with the Indian Cricket team. It was the day when all dreams came true as India’s quenching of another World Cup Title was completed after 28 long years.
Who doesn’t want to relive those Glorius moments once again, Watch below…
A World Cup innings for the ages 🏆@msdhoni powered India to glory in emphatic style.#CWC11Rewind pic.twitter.com/DvHqga6cVy
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) April 2, 2021
𝘼𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩! 🏆
🗓️ #OnThisDay in 2011, #TeamIndia won the ODI World Cup for the second time. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/IJNaLjkYLt
— BCCI (@BCCI) April 2, 2023
