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10 years to India’s 2011 World Cup final triumph

Apr 01, 2021

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“Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd! India lift the World Cup after 28 years!” The words from Ravi Shastri, the shot from Dhoni, the evening from that Indian summer were what Indian cricket fans had been waiting to be part of for 28 years. It was special for those who had not witnessed Kapil Dev lifting the Cup in 1983. 

The generation had already suffered heartbreak in 2003 when India crashed to a defeat in the final against an all-conquering Australian side. Nothing short of a World Cup win would have helped them recover. The T20 World Cup had not been enough to soothe them. So, after a forgettable 2007 World Cup campaign in the West Indies, the Indian fans were desperate. 

The 2007 World Cup was marred by lack of planning, overpriced tickets, early elimination of India and Pakistan, the untimely death of Bob Woolmer, Australia’s ruthless dominance, and a fiasco to end the final. The 2011 edition, with packed houses in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, witnessed massive huge turnouts in almost every match. 

After nearly one and a half months of competitive cricket, co-hosts India and Sri Lanka met each other in the final on 2 April. En route to the final, India had to beat defending champions Australia in the quarterfinal and arch rivals Pakistan in the semi-final. The superstar of the Indian journey was Yuvraj Singh, with four Player-of-the-Match awards already under his belt. He was also battling cancer at that time, but he was not aware of that. 

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, beat England and New Zealand in their knockout matches to reach their second consecutive World Cup final. Tillakaratne Dilshan and the captain Kumara Sangakkara led the runs chart for them. They, with Sachin Tendulkar sandwiched in between, would occupy the top three spots in the tournament.

Both teams made some changes ahead of the final. India missed Ashish Nehra, who had fractured a finger during the semi-final. Experts wanted India to bring in R Ashwin as an extra spinner to provide support to Harbhajan Singh, but with Harbhajan bowling economically and Yuvraj bowling beautifully, MS Dhoni wanted a third fast bowler. So India replaced Nehra with S Sreesanth, who had featured only in India’s opening match of the tournament. His five overs had gone for 53 runs that day.

Sri Lanka made quite a few changes, largely due to injury, but some strategic. From their semi-final line-up they replaced Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath, and Ajantha Mendis with Chamara Kapugedera, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, and Suraj Randiv. They even called Chaminda Vaas, out of action for some time, as backup. Vaas did not play.

The drama began at the toss. Dhoni flipped the coin, and was sure of winning the toss. Surprisingly, Sangakkara claimed the same as well. A jam-packed Wankhede had made it difficult for match referee Jeff Crowe and television anchor Shastri to hear Sangakkara’s call. They tossed again, Sangakkara called right, and had no hesitation in opting to bat.

Upul Tharanga and Dilshan opened the batting for Sri Lanka. Zaheer Khan, arguably the best bowler of the tournament, ran in. Zaheer had been in the situation before, in the 2003 final. A nervous Zaheer had begun with a 10-ball over that day. The over had gone for 15.

But this was an evolved Zaheer, wily, experienced, crafty. He began with three maiden overs, all to Tharanga. He finally got Tharanga off the first ball off the fourth over, caught at slip, for a 20-ball 2. Sangakkara and Dilshan saw Zaheer off. Zaheer’s first spell read 5-3-6-1.

Unfortunately, the decision to pick Sreesanth did not work out. His fifth over went for 15, and Sri Lanka reached 50 in the 13th over. 

Dhoni brought his spinners on, and Harbhajan got Dilshan. Mahela Jayawardene, the most experienced Sri Lankan batsman, joined his close friend Sangakkara. The pair added 63 runs in 11 overs. Jayawardene added 57 with Thilan Samaraweera (21) as well. Both men fell to Yuvraj, who would be named Player of the Series that night. Then Zaheer returned to dismiss Kapugedera. Sri Lanka were 182/5 in the 40th over. India were in a commanding position. 

Sangakkara sent Kulasekara ahead of Thisara, and Kulasekara played his shots with abandon. Meanwhile, Jayawardene completed a brilliant century in just 84 deliveries. After Kulasekara was run out for 32, Thisara slammed 22 not out in 9 balls including a six off the final delivery of the 50th over. After a great start, Zaheer suffered during the death overs and finished with 2-60. The two wickets also made him the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 21 wickets along with Shahid Afridi.

Indian chase had an early setback when Virender Sehwag was dismissed by Lasith Malinga just off the second ball of the first over. It looked destined for Tendulkar, in his sixth World Cup, to take his team to victory after his fluent start. He raced to 18 with two boundaries before Malinga struck again as Tendulkar’s mistimed drive was pouched by Sangakkara, leaving the ground in stunned silence. 

This brought young Virat Kohli to the crease. Over the years, Kohli would become a giant of the sport, but back then he was just another youngster trying to cement his place in the team. Earlier in the tournament he had become the first Indian to score a hundred on World Cup debut. Now, he stood with his Delhi senior Gautam Gambhir to help build the recovery for India. 

The duo ensured the flow of runs kept coming and the required run rate never went out of reach. India, past hundred, seemed safe when a brilliant fielding effort by Dilshan off his own bowling helped him get rid of Kohli. India still needed 161 in 28 overs. 

And to everyone’s surprise, Dhoni strode out ahead of Yuvraj. 

Dhoni had a mediocre World Cup until then. He had scored just 150 runs in seven innings and had not passed 35. A later revelation suggested that Dhoni had discussed a promotion with coach Garry Kirsten. Perhaps he wanted to continue with the right-hand-left hand combination, especially keeping in mind that Sri Lanka had two off-spinners in their ranks. Muttiah Muralitharan, who had already retired from Test cricket with 800 wickets, was playing his final ODI. Despite not being one hundred per cent fit, he was the biggest threat for Indian middle order. 

Gambhir and Dhoni neutralised the initial threat. Then Dhoni played a few shots, and kept the scoreboard moving with some quick singles. His fifty came off just 52 balls. At the other end Gambhir slowly approached what would have been a memorable hundred. Unfortunately, he tried to cut one from Perera, missed the line, and was bowled for 97. It was a great knock, comparable to his 75 in the final of the 2007 T20 World Cup.

At this stage India required 52 runs off 52 balls, a straightforward task, but then, funny things tend to happen in World Cup finals. Yuvraj looked assured. He got an early boundary. Then Dhoni cut ferociously over point for six. The Sri Lankans tried hard. They even asked for UDRS for a leg-before against Yuvraj. But nothing worked. Dhoni and Yuvraj had finished many matches for India before this, but this could end as the most memorable.

Boundaries came at regular intervals and the required rate stayed in control. Malinga had triggered turn-arounds before, most notably in the 2007 World Cup against South Africa when he had scalped four wickets in four balls to almost pull off an improbable win. But this was not going to be his night. Instead, two back-to-back boundaries in the 48th over, by Dhoni, as good as sealed the match.

The final moment came soon. Dhoni sent the second ball of the 49th over, bowled by Kulasekara, over the bowler’s head. The ball soared over the long on boundary. The frame and the video clip, with Shastri’s voice in the background, have earned permanent spots in Indian cricket folklore.