“Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd! India lift the World Cup after 28 years!” these phrases by Ravi Shastri of M.S. Dhoni after the wicketkeeper-batsman hit a humongous six towards Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Kulasekara in the summit conflict of the 2011 ICC World Cup on the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai nonetheless reverberate in the ears of each Indian citizen.
With that monstrous six towards Kulasekara, Dhoni not solely gave thousands and thousands of Indians a reminiscence value revisiting all through their lives but additionally fulfilled the long-cherished dream of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who had, till then, virtually all of the trophies in his cupboard besides the World Cup. Tendulkar, often called the ‘God of Cricket’, had waited 22 years for lifting the trophy and on April 2, 2011, his dream lastly got here true at his dwelling floor.
Here’s the video of Dhoni’s iconic six in the 2011 World Cup final
The Day Which No One Can Forget, “Dhoni Finishes Off in Style !
MS Dhoni Is The Only Player To Win A World Cup For His Team With A Six !#DhoniOurIcon | @MSDhoni | #MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/tANjAfpJzN
— [?]nsii ajamu mumvai (@MSD_Army_MUMBAI) April 2, 2021
India had received its first World Cup below Kapil Dev’s management in 1983 after which weren’t in a position to lay their arms on the coveted trophy till 2011.
Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India misplaced only one match in the showpiece occasion towards South Africa. India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final to arrange a blockbuster finale with Sri Lanka.
At the final, the Wankhede seemed like a sea of blue with Indian followers filling up every seat of the iconic stadium. The remainder of the Indians had been glued to their TV screens to witness the mega conflict.
Sri Lanka, below Kumar Sangakkara, seemed on target to win their second World Cup title after giving India a stiff goal of 275. Mahela Jayawardene performed a splendid knock, scoring a superb century whereas placing 13 fours in his 103-run innings, that got here off simply 88 balls.
During the chase, followers had been left emotionally battered after lanky pacer Lasith Malinga dismissed Tendulkar, leaving India in a spot of trouble as their scorecard learn 31/2 in the sixth over. However, a heroic innings by Gautam Gambhir (97) together with an distinctive knock from Dhoni (91*) saved India the blushes and noticed the Men in Blue raise the World Cup trophy after 28 years. While Dhoni was adjudged because the Man of the Match, fashionable all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was named the Player of the Tournament.
As quickly because the ball left Dhoni’s bat and India went into ecstasy, Tendulkar was seen in tears stuffed with pleasure whereas hugging Yuvraj who afterward revealed that he performed the match whereas battling most cancers. The total crew carried Tendulkar on their shoulders and took a victory lap across the stadium.
The total nation was quickly on the streets after the iconic win, singing the nationwide anthem whereas waving the tri-colour.
“April 2 10 years ago, the moment of a lifetime,” Virender Sehwag tweeted on Friday together with an image exhibiting the Indian crew with the celebrated trophy.
There’s no denying that April 2, 2011 stays one of many biggest days in Indian cricket historical past.
