3. India vs Sri Lanka, World Cup 2011 Final, Wankhede
The 2011 World Cup had been a dream tournament for team India. India advanced to the final of World Cup after defeating Australia and Pakistan in the quarterfinal and semi final respectively. For the first time in the history, the toss was taken twice over the confusion of call. Sri Lanka won the toss and straight away elected to bat on the flat wicket of Wankhede. Mahela Jayawardene was unbeaten on 103, leading Sri Lanka to 274. The crowd was on their toes to see Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar coming on to the crease. But the story turned out to be a different one, as both of them departed to the pavillion with less than 50 runs on the board. Gautam Gambhir started rotating strike, followed by some astonishing boundaries. Much to everyone’s surprise, skipper Dhoni took the onus and promoted himself in the batting order ahead of Yuvraj Singh. The duo started rotating strike fluently and added 109 runs together, until Parera knocked over Gambhir’s stumps. Yuvraj and Dhoni destroyed the Sri Lankan bowling attack, which graduated Indian innings towards the target. It was just a matter of minutes, when Dhoni struck a magnificent blow into the stands to lift the World Cup after 28 years. Notwithstanding whole Indian team unimaginably played as a unit, Yuvraj’s sensational all round performance and Sachin’s masterclass throughout the tournament will be remembered for years to come. “He carried the burden of the nation on his shoulders for 22 years, it’s time we carry him on ours,” quoted Virat Kohli, when asked about Sachin post winning.
