ICC World Cup 2011 final: 3 unforgettable memories
2 April 2011 is a golden day in Indian cricket history. On this day, MS Dhoni-led India lifted the World Cup trophy for the second time. This win was also the first time when the host country won the World Cup. Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni's brilliance with the bat overcame a strong target set by Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium.
Batting first after winning the toss, Sri Lanka posted 274 runs on the board, powered by a magnificent century from Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 103 off 88 balls. Given the occasion of a World Cup final, it was a daunting total to chase for Indian team and it started to look harder when India lost both of their openers very early in the innings.
Gautam Gambhir added a crucial 83-run partnership with Virat Kohli before stitching a match-winning stand with the Indian captain MS Dhoni, who surprisingly came out to bat ahead of Yuvraj Singh. India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets with ten balls to spare. Gautam Gambhir scored a hard-fought 97 and MS Dhoni remained not out after scoring a dazzling 91.
The final was full of drama, emotions, self-belief, and thrill as it yielded many memorable moments that are still savored. Let's have a look at three of those:
#1 Drama at the toss
Amidst the huge roar of the jam-packed crowd, Indian captain MS Dhoni with his Sri Lankan counterpart came out for the toss. As it turned out, Dhoni tossed the coin but Jeff Crowe, the match referee, could not hear what Kumar Sangakkara called.
After a brief conversation, it was decided to go for the toss again. This time Sangakkara called it right and decided to bat first in the all-important final.