“Was a dream of a billion”- Yuvraj, Sachin get nostalgic on 11th anniversary of World Cup 2011

“Was a dream of a billion”- Yuvraj, Sachin get nostalgic on 11th anniversary of World Cup 2011

World Cup

April 2, 2011 was the day that fulfilled the dream of billions of Indians. On this auspicious day India lifted the World Cup after 28 years after defeating Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

But after a decade the memories are still fresh in every cricket fans’ minds. Ravi Shashti’s unforgettable words- “Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent six into the crowd. India lifts the World Cup after 28 years,”- still rings in everyone’s ears when the coveting tournament is remembered.

It was also Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s final chance to fulfil his childhood dream of lifting the cup after five unsuccessful attempts. India had won the first World Cup in 1983 under the captaincy of the legendary Kapil Dev by beating the mighty and unbeatable West Indies.

On its 11th anniversary, former players including Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh got nostalgic and tweeted about it.

Yuvraj Singh said: “It wasn’t just a world cup victory; it was the dream of a billion Indians being fulfilled. Proud to be part of this team that wanted to win the cup for the country & for @sachin_rt. Nothing can match the pride of wearing the tricolor & bringing glory to the nation.”

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India won the World Cup and conquered the cricket world

World Cup
MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh

The final match started with a notorious toss where both the captains started arguing over the toss result. But finally, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and opted to bat first. However, the Lankans didn’t start well due to spearhead Zaheer Khan’s three maiden overs. In the later overs Mahela Jayawardene took the responsibilities on his shoulders and scored an unbeaten 103 runs off 88 deliveries. The Lankans gave a target of 274/6 in 50 overs.

India didn’t well as well. Lasith Malinga aided the Lankans by dismissing opener Virender Sehwag and later grabbing Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket. For the third wicket, Gautam Gambhir’s 83-run partnership with Virat Kohli steadied the ship.

After Kohli’s dismissal for 35, MS Dhoni did a surprising thing by promoting himself to bat ahead of an in-form Yuvraj Singh. When Dhoni got fully set on the crease, he started playing some amusing shots.

It was a huge blow for Gautam Gambhir who just needed three runs to complete a century in a World Cup final when Thisara Parera bowled him. In the final over, on the crease were Dhoni and Yuvraj. A magnificent six from Dhoni ended the match and India lifted the victorious trophy, fulfilling billions’ dream.

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