On This Day In 2011, India Held The World Cup For The 2nd Time

On This Day in 2011, India held the world cup for the 2nd time by beating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. 

India became the first team to win the world cup as a host in 2011. Except for one group stage match against South Africa, India had victories in all matches in this marquee event and credit goes to the robust teamwork of the Indian unit. Sachin amassed the most runs (482), Zaheer Khan led the top bowling chart (21 wickets), and Yuvraj Singh rocked the tournament with his bat and ball (362 runs and 15 wickets). 

In the finals against Sri Lanka, the island nation invited India to bowl and put up a target of 275 runs for India. Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene smacked a blistering hundred in the finals, 103 runs off 88 balls, while Kumar Sangakkara added 48 runs for his team. For India, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan grabbed two wickets apiece. 

In the pursuit of 275 runs, India came to bat with Sachin and Sehwag. But Malinga sent back Sehwag in the first over and Sachin in the 7th over, which shattered the hearts of Indians. Coming at No 3, Gambhir rescued India from the scarcity and delivered 97 runs (the best innings of his life), not to forget Virat Kohli’s valuable 35 runs at No.4. For the first time, captain MS Dhoni came to bat 5 ahead of warrior Yuvraj Singh, who batted at that position throughout the tournament. The decision was worthy, as Dhoni stood there till last and took his team home with a six in the 49th over. 

All Indians were in tears as India lifted the world cup after 28 years, since 1983 under Kapil Dev. Captain MS Dhoni bagged the Man of the Match award for his match-winning knock. Hence this day will always live in the heart of Indians.