Mumbai: “Dhoni finishes it off in style, a magnificent strike into the crowd, India lift the World Cup after 28 years, the party starts in the dressing room, and it is an Indian captain who has been absolutely magnificent on the night of the finals!” You read that in Ravi Shastri voice, didn’t you? There is hardly anyone in this country who doesn’t remember these indelible words from the commentary box on April 2, 2011.
Kapil Dev became the first Indian captain to lift the Cricket World Cup on 25 June 1983. A whole new generation of players has arrived. Since then, 28 years! That’s how long it took for India to seal the 2nd ICC cup and create history once again. The crowd witnessed Dhoni as he held his pose watching the ball, and Yuvraj started celebrating even before the ball made a six.
The match didn’t have a good start as Dhoni lost the toss and his rival Kumar Sangakkara opted to bat first. However, in the 7th over Zaheer Khan got rid of Upul Tharanga and Harbhajan Singh bowled out Tillakaratne Dilshan in the 10th over, which soon lifted up India’s spirits.
Though India kept Sri Lanka’s batsmen in check, Mahela Jayawardene started slow and forged a solid 103 runs off just 88 balls. India was away from 275 runs to fulfil Sachin’s long-held dream of lifting the cup. It was his fifth attempt, and now he was just a few hours away.
With just two balls, Malinga got Virender Sehwag and soon battled out Sachin Tendulkar in the fourth over. India was under severe pressure as they were down to 31/2 and then walked in a 22-year old, now captain, Virat Kohli. Kohli along with Gautam Gambhir scored 83 runs. After scoring 35 runs, Dilshan plucked a magnificent catch and Kohli was out of the field. Instead of the usual 3rd number Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni walked in.
The most appropriate word to describe this man has to be “unconventional”. He doesn’t play by the rule book. He knows how to keep calm and handle the pressure cooker like situation and he knows exactly what to do. He let Gambhir bat freely, but Thisara Perera brought him down after 97 runs.
With Yuvraj for company, Dhoni battled. As Dhoni hit the winning six, Yuvraj on the other end was left spellbound and soon started celebrating even before the ball turned into the six. Finally, on April 2, 2011, the dreams turned into reality.
