It is said that cricket is not just a game, it’s a religion that every single person in the country follows and the World cup is like a big festival for the game lovers. It was April 2, 2011, when the Indian cricket team went to win their second World Cup title in a 50-over cricket format. India, who won the first title in 1983, had to wait for 28 years to lift the title in front of a huge crowd at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After a long wait, Sachin Tendulkar’s wait for a World Cup was over, nations wait was over and all the prayers were answered.
When Dhoni, Gambhir helped India win their second ODI World Cup
India was hosting the World Cup in that year and no team hosting the World Cup had won it till then. The team was under immense pressure along with a single request-cum-demand of winning the Cup by everyone. Entering into the 2011 tournament, the Men in Blue were the clear favorites to win the title. Under the leadership of MS Dhoni, India lost just one match against South Africa and tied a game with England.
India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final to meet Sri Lanka in the final. In the match, the latter won the toss and chose to bat first. Skipper Mahela Jayawardena top-scored with a century and took the team’s score to 274/6.
The men in blue, however, got off to a bad start as the side lost key wickets of opener Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag for just 31 runs on the scorecard. But, MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir stepped up and build a match-winning partnership of 109-run.
Though it was Dhoni and Yuvraj who took the team over the line by six wickets, however, it was Gambhir’s gutsy and controlled knock led the country towards the cup under immense pressure. Gautam Gambhir stayed on the crease for 187 minutes and score 97 runs by facing 122 deliveries. In the process, he built an 83-run partnership with current India skipper Virat Kohli and of 119-run with then-skipper MS Dhoni.
When Gambhir left the ground in the 42nd over, India needed 52 runs from as many balls with 6 wickets in hand. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina were part of those remaining 6 wickets and they made sure the battle is won with 10 balls remaining.
The match-winning six by the former India skipper is still viewed as one of the exciting moments in India’s sporting history. As soon as the ball sailed over the boundary ropes, Ravi Shastri in the commentary box famously marked, “Dhoni, finishes it off in style, India lifts the World Cup after 28 years.”
As soon as the match-winning shot was hit, other teammates got up off their seats and took a lap around the ground by carrying Tendulkar on their shoulders– voted greatest Laureus Sporting Moment in the last two decades.
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