[1]The victors with the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy. PHOTO: Reuters
Mark this day. And mark it well for it will forever be remembered as the one the World Cup came home again.
In muggy conditions, India rewrote history — a piece of which they had first scripted 28 years ago — capping a run that got better and better as the 2011 World Cup progressed.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni thus joined Kapil Dev as a Cup-winning captain and led from the front at the Wankhede Stadium here on a muggy Saturday night, battling back pains and aching legs as India eased to a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka with 10 balls to spare.
And as the confetti showered around them, it marked a performance that had contributions up and down the order. Needing 275 to win, India’s chase was anchored by Gautam Gambhir’s fighting 97 before the player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh took it home alongside his captain.
Fireworks blasted into the night as International Cricket Council president Sharad Pawar handed over the glittering trophy to Dhoni and his cheering team-mates who were promptly showered with champagne and still more confetti.
Sri Lanka had ridden a sublime unbeaten 103 from Mahela Jayawardene to tally 274/6 from their 50 overs and for a while it looked like the Indians had a battle on their hands with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar back in the pavilion and only 32 runs on the board.
A series of partnerships, however, stabilised the innings as Gambhir and Virat Kohli picked up the gauntlet. After the latter fell, it was the captain who joined Gambhir to keep the hunt going before Yuvraj joined him in providing the coup de grace.
Tendulkar’s sixth World Cup campaign finally turned out to be the one he will remember for the rest of his life — 19 long years since the day he played his first Cup match back in 1992.
Fittingly — for the team and Dhoni had repeatedly talked about winning it for him — an emotional Tendulkar was chaired around the ground by his young colleagues as a rapturous Wankhede crowd roared, sang and swayed their appreciation for this greatest of servants of Indian cricket.
There were very few dry eyes in the Indian dressing room, and one suspects around the nation as well, as the team’s status as the world’s best in both ODI and Test cricket was confirmed with this victory.
Proudest moment of my life: Sachin
Mumbai: An emotional Sachin Tendulkar admitted that Saturday was the “proudest day of my life” after India beat Sri Lanka to win the cricket World Cup.
“Couldn’t have asked for more. This is ultimate. It’s the proudest moment of my life,” said Tendulkar in a choked voice. —PTI
Dhoni to critics: Cup is answer
Mumbai: Captain M.S. Dhoni took potshots at the critics of his team, saying that the win has answered them. “A few decisions I have taken today, including why I brought in S. Sreesanth instead of Ravichandran Ashwin and why I promoted myself in the batting order ahead of Yuvraj... It could have been that the decisions cost [us] the match,” he said. —PTI
Yuvi is ‘Man of the Tournament’
Mumbai: Flamboyant left-hander Yuvraj Singh was declared as the Man of the 2011 World Cup for his stupendous all-round effort for the triumphant Indian team at the conclusion of the tournament here on Saturday. —PTI
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/victors-icc-cricket-world-cup-trophy-photo-reuters-405