Mumbai: “Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd! India lift the World Cup after 28 years!”, screamed Ravi Shastri on air who was back then in the commentary box as MS Dhoni just tweaked his elbow after hitting Nuwan Kulasekara for that iconic six over long-on. Lines that will still be ringing in the ears of billions as India celebrates the 10th anniversary of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup win.
India’s win over Sri Lanka in the final of the 2011 ODI World Cup in Mumbai was without a doubt a collective effort. First, the bowling unit fueled with the likes of Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, did a great job restricting the visitors below 300 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. Then, after losing Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early on, Gautam Gambhir’s gritty 97 alongside contributions from Virat Kohli, and Yuvraj Singh gave the platform before a knock of a lifetime from MS Dhoni (91) helped India chase down the total of 274 in 48.2 overs.
Things have changed dramatically after a decade of that. Some of them gone far in their careers after that while some went to a different route. Let us see where are those men in blue from that fairytale night now ten years later.
Sachin Tendulkar: Arguably the greatest cricketer of all time, the little master needs very less introduction. After playing for over two decades and representing the country in six world cups finally fulfilled lifting the ultimate prize of his dream on April 2 in his own city. Although then aged 36, he was still in the peak of his powers scoring 482 runs in 9 matches in the tournament hitting two centuries on the way. He retired from all forms of the game two years later at the same ground and currently is a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha. He also gets seen in the dug-out of the Mumbai Indians’ side in the Indian Premier League.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Captain cool, as always they say played probably the innings of his life was the fitting leader of that pack, someone who refused to get pinned down in even the toughest of situations. 2 years later, he lead the side to win the ICC Champions Trophy in England rewriting history books, becoming one of the most successful captains if not the greatest the nation has ever produced. Now after announcing his international retirement last year, he will be seen in the upcoming Indian Premier League 2021 leading Chennai Super Kings.
Virat Kohli: The skipper and backbone of the current Indian batting up, the Delhi boy who was just 22 back then has come very far after playing a crucial knock of 35 on that night of the final. He transformed himself in every aspect to reach incredible feats in his career breaking several records, setting several new ones. He was most notably seen beside Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh and Suresh Raina who all got together lifting Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders to take a lap of honor after the long live dream of the ‘’Little Master” became a reality.
Gautam Gambhir: The Delhi southpaw, who played the most crucial knock in the chase in Mumbai was going through the purple patch of his career and his heroics always seemed to have went under the radar. Be it the knock in the T20 WC final back in 2007 or be it a match-saving knock in the fifth day of a Test against New Zeland in 2009. His ability to play innings on big stages probably deserved a bit more applause. However, after a year and a half of that triumph, he seemed to part his ways from the international scene. He also captained the Kolkata Knight Rider lifting the IPL trophy twice(2012 and 2014) in three years. Post his retirement, he joined the field of politics winning in the election from his respective centre back in 2019.
Yuvraj Singh: The man of the tournament of that World cup, Yuvraj added a different essence to the side emerging as rather an all-rounder as the tournament progressed. It was as if whatever he touched turn into gold. The south paw scored 362 runs including one century and four fifties while rolling his arms over takings 15 wickets, a record that still stands today. He also contributed well in the final sticking with Dhoni till the end. He inspired billions with his fight beyond pitch after he was diagnosed with cancer which required a two-and-a-half month treatment in the USA and returned home after conquering the disease in April 2012. Yuvraj now runs his own charity YouWeCan which has helped to treat hundreds of cancer patients. After announcing his retirement back in 2019, he was recently seen in the Road safety world series representing the India legends.
Virendar Sehwag: The swashbuckling opener had a mix 2011 world cup. His most notable contribution in that World Cup was in the opening game where he scored 175 against Bangladesh in Mirpur setting the tournament alive. His no-nonsense approach to his strokeplay is still vivid in everyone’s after he left the game in 2015. These days he usually is seen in the commentary box with his ever likable sense of humor.
Zaheer Khan: While, Sachin and Yuvraj lead the batting lineup, the left-arm pacer from Maharashtra was India’s trump card in the world cup picking up 21 wickets, the joint-most in that tournament alongside Shahid Afridi. He was there in the final as well picking up the wickets of Tharanga and Kapugedera. These days, Zaheer is often seen in the expert panel making his punditry.
Suresh Raina: This south-paw from Uttar Pradesh had his fair share of contribution too. Despite being sidelined in the early parts of the tournament until the game against West Indies where he replaced Virendar Sehwag he first had his best moment in the quarter-final where he partnered brilliantly with Yuvraj ending the winning streak of Australia in the World Cup. Then, in an intense semi-final against arch-rivals Pakistan in Mohali, where his gritty unbeaten 36 on a tough pitch took India to 260 showcasing his diligent character. Post that triumph, he quickly established himself as a reliable middle-order batsman for quite some time and also one of the best batsmen in the IPL. He will represent the Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL in 2021 after having hung his international boots on the same day as MS Dhoni, a year back.
Harbhajan Singh: The Turbanator as he often gets named, was one of the iconic characters in that star-stacked dressing room and was one of the vital cogs of that bowling unit besides Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. His aggressive celebrations after defeating Pakistan in the semi-final was one to watch out for while he was in that iconic frame lifting Sachin on his shoulders alongside his teammates after the final where he bowled reasonably well. He usually is seen these days in a few popular TV shows as well as in the commentary box. However, he was picked up in the IPL auction by Kolkata Knight Riders for 2 crores with hopes to add some character to the dressing room in the upcoming tournament.
Munaf Patel: One of the unsung heroes for India in that journey and a largely underrated bowler considering his figures in white-ball cricket especially with his economy rate of under 5 runs an over. Munaf was picked up in the squad for aiding as a third seamer alongside Zaheer and Nehra. He had an excellent tournament picking up 11 wickets– third highest for the men in blue while performing brilliantly in both the semi-final and final with his tight line and consistency. However, he soon began to fade away from the international scenario. He played his last game against England back in 2011. A few years back he was seen farming in his native land before coming to represent the India Legends in Road safety world series.
Shanthakumaran Sreesanth: Sreesanth was a surprise pick for the World Cup. Although, he played in that final in Mumbai, he failed to justify his selection going wicketless in the tournament. After being sidelined for an alleged match-fixing scandal and other legal issues, he made his return to cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament representing Kerala.
