World Cup 2011, when an Indian thinks about it, a chill runs through their body and that night flashes in their mind. The night India conquered the world and were crowned the World champions. It was a tiring 28-year long wait for us but we finally did it in the theatre of Wankhede. The joy cannot be described in words and it's still the same after seven years. Let us relive that night and go on that rollercoaster ride aga
The match started rather in a bizarre fashion with two tosses. The first toss was canceled as the match referee could not hear the Lankan skipper's call. The outcome was the same both the times, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first. India started brilliantly with the ball as Zaheer Khan started with three maidens and also claiming the wicket of Upul Tharanga. Dilshan was next to go, he was undone by Harbhajan. Sangakkara was the third man in for Sri Lanka. He batted solidly and steadied the innings with Mahela Jayawardene. The pair added 62 runs before Sangakkara was dismissed for 48.
But Jayawardene went on to score 103 runs off 88 balls and stayed unbeaten till the end of the innings. He was the main reason why Sri Lanka could post a respectable total after a shaky start. He was the one who held the team together through the tough middle overs. He stitched an important partnership with Thisara Perera of 66 runs down the order. It was because of his presence that Sri Lanka was able to score a whopping 91 runs in the last ten overs to post a fighting total.
India too had a shaky start in their mission to chase down 274. They lost Sehwag in the second ball of the innings. Little Master showed some glimpse of his skillful stroke play with a blistering straight drive but soon succumbed to Malinga. This reduced India to 31/2 and the whole country lost hope. But the Delhi lads, Gambhir and Kohli started the tedious job of rebuilding the Indian innings. In the meantime, Gambhir miss-timed a shot and the ball popped up in the air. It seemed like the ball hung there for an eternity and the whole country watched with their hearts in their mouth but to everyone's relief Kulasekara could not hold on to that difficult low catch and everyone heaved a sigh of relief. The pair of Gambhir and Kohli put together a partnership of 83 before Kohli was caught by Dilshan on his own bowling for 35.
Dhoni promoted himself up the order to have a left-hand right-hand combination on the field. His move paid off as the Sri Lankan bowlers were not able to settle or have their rhythm. Both Dhoni and Gambhir rotated the strike continuously with Dhoni accelerating with a flurry of boundaries. While Dhoni's innings was a perfect balance of power and placement, Gambhir used his timing to the best. The pair handled the dangerous Lankan spin attack with ease, especially the Lankan legend Murlidharan. Together they put up a 109 run partnership before Gambhir was knocked off by Perera while trying to finish his century with a boundary. He missed his century by only 3 runs.
Gambhir's dismissal brought the in-form Yuvraj Singh to the crease. As the night went on, dew on the ground increased and Sri Lankan bowling attack became ineffective. The experienced pair of Yuvraj and Dhoni scored on their will and Dhoni sealed the match, in style, with a six. Whenever we speak of the winning six, one is reminded of these legendary lines by Ravi Shastri in the commentary box,
"Absolutely Magnificent. Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lifts the World Cup after 28 years. The party started in the dressing room and it's the Indian Captain who has been absolutely magnificent in the night of the final"
As the ball went up in the air when Dhoni hit, for a moment the heart of billions of fans stopped but when the camera showed Dhoni's face looking at a ball with confidence, everyone knew that the job is done. Finally, the most prestigious prize in international cricket had been won. The joy and excitement can never be described in words. Fireworks covered the sky across India as if it was Diwali. But truth hit hard when Tendulkar was given the victory lap. People realized that they won't witness the Master Blaster playing again and the night ended in a mix of emotions.
Video | Highlights 2011 World Cup Final
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