Sachin Tendulkar picks moment that "charged-up proceedings" in 2011 World Cup final
Legendary Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar has opined that Virender Sehwag's catch to dismiss Sri Lankan opening batsman Upul Tharanga "charged up the proceedings" that saw India restrict their opponents to a smaller total in the World Cup final.
India and Sri Lanka faced off in the final of the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai, and India's new-ball pair of Zaheer Khan and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth had done well to keep the visitors from getting away to a good start.
In the seventh over, Zaheer had Tharanga poking at a delivery outside the off-stump and the edge was snaffled extremely well by Sehwag at first slip, who dived to his right and completed a tough catch.
Tendulkar, in an exclusive chat with TOI, said that the catch to bring about India's first wicket charged up the Indian players from that moment on but also praised Mahela Jayawardena for his fighting century.
“Zaheer started off really well. Viru took an outstanding catch of Tharanga, I think it was the seventh over. It charged up the proceedings and we did excellently well to restrict the target to 274. Mahela batted beautifully for his 103. The knock gave Sri Lanka a total to fight for, “ Tendulkar said.
Sehwag too chipped in and spoke about how the Indian team's mentality was very optimistic ahead of stepping onto the field for the summit clash.
“We knew that if we got our basics right, we would always be in control. We had enjoyed a very good tournament and it was just a matter of holding on to our beliefs in that one all-important game. We were brimming with confidence, ” Sehwag said.
Despite Jayawardena's century, half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni helped India get across the line comfortably and bring about the country's second ODI World Cup win.