Bhubaneswar: April 2, 2011 will always be a red-letter day in the annals of Indian cricket. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of India’s World Cup win in Mumbai. It was on this day that India, by winning the ICC World Cup ended Australia’s stranglehold on the trophy. The Aussies had won the title in 1999, 2003 and 2007. India’s victory in the World Cup came on the back of some great performances by a number of cricketers. No doubt, it was a team effort but there were some who stood like a Colossus as India marched to the title.
Orissa POST takes a look at some of the stalwarts who made the memorable triumph possible. It was on the night of 2011 when India erupted in joy as MS Dhoni’s brigade held the World Cup trophy aloft. India thus became the first country to win the title on home soil at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Yuvraj Singh
The man was fighting cancer, yet he went on giving one match-winning performance after the other. Yuvraj Singh scored a half century against England to start his World Cup campaign. He followed up with two more knocks of 50-plus as India registered easy wins against Ireland and the Netherlands. However, the best was yet to come. He got a brilliant hundred against the West Indies with India in a bit of bother. Yuvraj later revealed that prior to this game, he had started coughing blood. Then came another half century, this time against mighty foes Australia to seal India’s place in the semifinals. Yuvi also shone with the ball… he picked up 15 wickets in the World Cup and was named ‘Man of the Tournament’.
Gautam Gambhir
Here is a player whose performance has always been under-rated in India’s World Cup triumph in 2011. People talk about Dhoni’s unbeaten 91 in the final of the World Cup, but it was Gambhir’s 97 that set up India’s platform for a historic triumph. Three of his four half centuries came against England (51), South Africa (69) and Australia (50). Gambhir has a unique feat under his belt. When India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, he was the highest scorer against Pakistan with 75. In the 2011 summit clash he once more proved his mettle by becoming the top-scorer in India’s run chase. He put on 83 runs for the third wicket with Virat Kohli to steady the Indian innings after the hosts had lost two early wickets in the final against Sri Lanka. Then came the game-changing 109 runs partnership for the fourth wicket with Dhoni that put India in the drivers’ seat. Gambhir was really one of the unsung heroes of the 2011 World Cup.
Sachin Tendulkar
It was the only trophy missing in his cabinet and the iconic Sachin Tendulkar knew that it was his last chance to grab a winner’s medal. In 1996 and 2003, when Tendulkar had racked up 523 and 673 runs respectively, his team fell short. So he decided to put things in place. Tendulkar was the second highest run-getter in the World Cup with 482 runs. He got two centuries and an 85 in the semifinals against arch rivals Pakistan as India went on to emerge victors. In the big final, Tendulkar was dismissed cheaply, but others came to the party to fulfil his dreams.
Zaheer Khan
The left-arm pacer blamed himself the most when India lost the 2003 World Cup final against Australia by an embarrassing margin of 125 runs. So 2011 was the chance to redeem himself and Zaheer did just that in World Cup. He emerged joint highest wicket-taker in the World Cup with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi. The ‘Sultan of Swing’ had three-wicket hauls four times in the tourney and most of those were match-changing scalps.
MS Dhoni
Well, he came, he saw and he conquered. Dhoni went through a lean batting patch in the World Cup before the final. However, when it mattered the most, he came good, very good indeed. Dhoni gave Indian cricket the moment that could match the impact of 1983. Prior to the final, Dhoni had scores of 31, 34, 19*, 12*, 22, 7 and 25. However, it was his unbeaten 91 that sealed the cup for India and gave the nation a night to remember. He finished the game off with a six, an image that will forever be etched in the mind of all Indians.