Heroes of World Cup 2011
Heroes of World Cup 2011: India’s long wait to win an ODI World Cup finally ended with a triumph over Sri Lanka in the finals of ICC ODI World Cup 2011.
The journey was not at all easy for the side, but the MS Dhoni-led team defeated all odds to become the World Champions for the second time, breaking the 28 years winless drought.
Today, in this article, we will discuss some of the best moments, and how our heroes turned Indians’ dream into reality.
Virender Sehwag’s love affair with first-ball fours
Everyone remembers how Dhoni finished the things in style with a six-over long-on at Wankhede. But did you know, it was Sehwag, who provided India a perfect start to their campaign.
The first match of ICC World Cup 2011 saw Sehwag’s masterclass, which started with a first-ball four, and later he scored 175 off 140 deliveries to collect the Player of the match.
The destructive opening batter smashed 5 first-ball fours in his 8 WC outings and scored 380 runs at a strike-rate of 122.58.
Superman Yuvraj
Yuvraj Singh was the center of attraction of India’s unit throughout the tournament. The swashbuckling batter collected 362 runs in 8 innings and grabbed 15 wickets with the ball.
The all-rounder was awarded a record 4 Player of the match awards and Player of the tournament.
Things were not at all in Yuvi’s favour, who was dealing with anxiety, fatigue, vomiting blood, but Yuvraj was very much committed to secure India a World Cup, and he continued to play despite not feeling well.
Later, when he went for a test to check the actual cause of his suffering, his real problem shocked the whole world, as Yuvraj was diagnosed with cancer.
Singh completed his treatment in United States and made himself ready to play for India again. Yuvraj’s inspiring story of belief and courage set the right example for all the people suffering from such a dangerous disease.
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The team effort
One player cannot win you a game of cricket, which is extremely true, and India’s 2011 World Cup team was the best-balanced side in recent times.
All players performed to their full potential whenever they got the chance.
From Zaheer Khan providing breakthroughs when needed to Suresh Raina’s crucial knocks in Quarter final and semi-final, India witnessed a complete performance.
Sachin Tendulkar was the top run-scorer for India with 482 in 9 innings, and how can people forget the crucial knock Gautam Gambhir played during the night of the final. Gambhir’s 97 runs were instrumental in men in blue winning the trophy.
Dhoni and the Final touch
India was the pre-match favourite before the finale clash against Sri Lanka. But to chase 275 against a quality bowling line-up was a tough task, and the openers dismissals also put India on backfoot.
The Crowd at Wankhede was all silent when Sachin Tendulkar went back to the pavilion when the score was only 31.
Young Virat Kohli came at number 4 and added 83 runs for the third wicket alongside Gambhir. Kohli played an important innings of 35.
The target, however, was still very far. With 161 more to win in 28.2 overs, everyone was expecting the in-form Yuvraj to come, it was the skipper MS Dhoni that came to crease.
The move was to tackle Sri Lanka Muttiah Muralitharan’s doosra, which Dhoni was adept at.
Indian captain then took the center stage and snatched the win from Sri Lanka’s hands with his flawless batting. Gambhir missed his well-deserved century by 3 runs in the process.
Yuvraj Singh, who came into bat at no.5, and scored unbeaten 21, was on the non-striker end when Dhoni shot the ball towards long on for a historic six, which will remain in hearts of every Indian forever.
MSD won the player of the match for his 91* off 79 that guided India to their second ODI World Cup triumph.
