April 2, 2024, marked 13 years to India’s second ODI World Cup trophy and that historic last six off skipper MS Dhoni to lift the second their title after 28 years. India defeated Sri Lanka in the final in front of a huge crowd in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on April 2, 2011. The final match between the two teams was filled with excitement and the Indian team performed on that day with both bat and the ball, riding on Dhoni's fighting 91, Gautam Gambhir’s fighting knock of 97, and Zaheer Khan’s impressive bowling. The partnership between Dhoni and Gambhir is fondly alive in the memories of the fans. As that partnership turned the result in India’s favour.
Fans very well remember the voice of Ravi Shastri saying during the commentary, “Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lifted the World Cup after 28 years. The party starts in the dressing room and it's an Indian captain who's been absolutely magnificent on the night of the final”.
Indian team started their World Cup campaign with a win against Bangladesh. In the second match, India and England played a thriller, and the match was tied. Following that, India defeated Ireland and the Netherlands in their next two matches. In the next game, South Africa defeated the home team by three wickets, and the infamous match against West Indies where Yuvraj Singh was seen vomiting despite that he scored a century.
Moving into the knockouts, India met the defending champions Australia in the quarter-finals and won the match by five wickets. Following this win, India will be meeting their arch-rivals Pakistan at Mohali and this match was witnessed by both the Prime Ministers of the country and in front of the home crowd India once again won the match against Pakistan by 29 runs. This semi-final is remembered for the knock of 85 runs played by Sachin Tendulkar who missed his 100th century in international cricket. Now the stage was set for the two host teams and neighbouring countries to play the finals at Wankhede in Mumbai. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first in the high-pressure game, with the help of a century by Mahela Jayawardene they posted 274 runs. Indian batting suffered an early blow with Lasith Malinga getting the wickets of both the openers Sehwag and Sachin. India was at 31/2, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli made a crucial partnership of 83 runs. When Virat Kohli was dismissed it was surprising that MS Dhoni had promoted himself above the in-form Yuvraj Singh. Dhoni and Gambhir made a match-defining partnership of 109 runs.
Skipper MS Dhoni was awarded the player of the match for his splendid 91 runs while Gautam Gambhir missed his century by just three runs. But his knock is well remembered by the fans as one of the best played under pressure.
Wait for the next cup goes on
India is the powerhouse of cricket and it's been 13 years since the last World Cup win. India has qualified for the knock-outs but failed to win the matches at the big stage. In the next World Cup in 2015, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, India won all their group stage matches and was unbeaten until they met the home team Australia in the semi-final. In 2019, India were the table topper but lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals which was played for two days due to rain interruption.
The 2023 World Cup will be unforgettable for the Indian team and the fans. The Indian team was not only at the top of the table but was the most dominating side in the tournament with Rohit and Virat smashing the ball and Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami hitting the wickets. India lost the final against Australia in the jam-packed Ahmedabad. The last time, the Indian team won the ICC trophy was in 2013. It was the young Indian team under MS Dhoni that won the ICC Champions Trophy 2023. With the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 in June, hosted by the USA and West Indies, the Indian team will be looking for their second T20 World Cup win.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
