WE ARE THE WORLD CHAMPIONS! India beat Sri Lanka to win ICC World Cup 2011

WE ARE THE WORLD CHAMPIONS! India beat Sri Lanka to win ICC World Cup 2011

Mtoday news

MUMBAI, April 2: Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck a dramatic six to bring the World Cup to India on Saturday after Sri Lanka had threatened to ruin their party. Twenty-eight years after Kapil’s Devils brought the cup home, another generation - Dhoni’s Daredevils - have done it again. Yuvraj Singh has been selected as the Player of the Tournament.

 

 

 

Dhoni finished with 91 not out as India, chasing a target of 275, won by six wickets with 10 balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium to become the first host country to win the World Cup.

 

 

This innings began with heartbreak. Much drama later it has ended with tears of joy. MS Dhoni played a Captain’s knock just when all of India needed one from him. India’s arguably most successful Captain ever has brought in another prize.

MS Dhoni has completed 6000 runs in one day internationals. Indubitably, he would count the runs he has scored today as some of the most important of those. He walked in with India in a pressure situation, with all of India demanding a captain’s knock, and acutely aware that he had not performed at all with the bat in the World Cup 2011.

 

 

 

They are also only the third side to win batting second, a feat that seemed beyond them when Lasith Malinga dismissed both openers in his first four overs.

Left-hander Gautam Gambhir stayed calm among the storm to score a masterly 97, sharing a fourth-wicket partnership of 109 from 118 balls with man-of-the-match Dhoni. Yuvraj Singh, who was named man-of-the-tournament, finished on 21 not out.

Muttiah Muralitharan, playing his last international match, was accurate but rarely threatening and was clearly feeling the effects of a hamstring and knee injury. The world record holder for test and one-day wickets did not increase his tally.

After Mahela Jayawardene had scored an unbeaten 103 in Sri Lanka’s challenging 274 for six, Malinga reduced an exuberant crowd to a shocked silence.His second ball in the opening over skidded through low to Virender Sehwag who, playing across the line, was out lbw without scoring.Sachin Tendulkar looked in masterly touch, off-driving and square-cutting boundaries off Nuwan Kulasekara’s second over.

 

 

 

Kumar Sangakkara persisted with Malinga and was rewarded when Tendulkar (18) fended uncertainly outside the off-stump and edged a catch to the captain behind the stumps. Malinga raced the length of the pitch to receive the congratulations of his ecstatic team mates.

Tendulkar, 37, who was playing in what looks certain to be his last World Cup, still needs one more century to become the first man to score 100 international centuries.

 

 

 

Farewell Guru Gary: The shishayas continue the parampara of giving Guru Dakshina. What better prize than this for Indian coach Gary Kirsten, who has announced that he will leave Team India after the World Cup.

Gambhir and Virat Kohli began the rescue operation and received a huge slice of luck when the former was dropped at long-off by Kulasekara off off-spinner Suraj Randiv on 30 with the total on 68.

 

Rs one crore bonanza for each player.


Each player of the victorious Indian Cricket team will get Rs one crore, the Board of Control for Cricket announced tonight.

Cricket coach Gary Kirsten and other support staff will get Rs 50 lakh each as reward for their contribution, while the selectors will be given Rs 25 lakh each, Shashank Manohar, President of BCCI, said.

 

MAGNIFICENT CATCH

Kohli batted enterprisingly to reach 35 when Tillakaratne Dilshan, took a magnificent one-handed catch off his own bowling flinging himself to his right with his arm fully extended.

Gambhir was within three runs of a century when medium-pacer Thisara Perera knocked back his middle stump. He threw back his head in disgust but his 122-ball innings with nine boundaries had gone a long way to winning the World Cup for his country for the second time.

After a brilliant opening spell from Zaheer Khan, who took one for six from his opening five overs in the Sri Lanka innings after starting with three maidens, Jayawardene guided the ball deftly into the gaps and ran swiftly between the wickets.

 

 

Sangakkara (48), who had negotiated his early overs carefully, appeared set to play a substantial innings when he attempted a cut against Yuvraj’s left-arm spin and edged the ball straight to Dhoni who threw the ball gleefully into the air.

Jayawardene kept the scoreboard ticking over before Sri Lanka took the batting powerplay in the 46th over and the whole tempo of the game changed.

Kulasekara swung across the line to smash Zaheer into the stands for the first six of the match. Jaywardene danced outside his leg-stump to slash Zaheer for four and bring up his second century of the tournament from 84 balls with 13 boundaries.

Kulasekara was run out for 32 giving Perera the opportunity to crack 22 not out from nine balls with three fours and a six. Sixty-three runs came from the batting powerplay, Sri Lanka’s best of the competition.


Double toss and Celeb Watching

 

 

The final toss of the 2011 World Cup was won by Sri Lanka and Sangakkara opted to bat first. The toss had to be done twice as Indian skipper MS Dhoni’s call could not be heard because of the noise at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.