The title win was achieved on the back of collective performances from all the members of the team as India always found men to step up when it mattered.
On the 7th anniversary of India’s victorious World Cup campaign in 2011, let’s relive the 7 golden moments that enabled the Indian team to hold the trophy aloft.
#7 The Viru show
India began the tournament with a massive weight of expectations as they were playing in home conditions and were hot favourites. The tournament opener against Bangladesh would have brought back memories of the miserable 2007 World Cup in which they were shocked by a young Bangladeshi side en-route to a shameful first round exit.
Sehwag settled the nerves with a boundary of the first ball and there was no looking back after that.
He sent the Bangladeshi bowlers on a leather hunt as he deposited the ball to all corners of the Shere Bangla Stadium, Mirpur. He struck 14 fours and 5 sixes on his way to a belligerent 175.
Virat Kohli, too, scored an unbeaten ton on his World Cup debut. The two Delhi boys battered the bowlers as India set Bangladesh a mammoth 371 run target. This batting performance set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
#6 Yuvi filling in as the all-rounder
Yuvraj Singh’s performances in the World Cup epitomized the champion player that he was. He came into the World Cup with doubts over his form and fitness, but set the stage alight with his incredible displays with both bat and ball. Four man-of-the-Match awards, 362 runs and 15 wickets paved way for the Man-of-the-Tournament award.
He scored 50s against England, Ireland, Netherlands in the group stages before scoring a fantastic hundred against West Indies in testing conditions in Chennai. He scored a fifty of high quality in the quarter-finals against Australia in a tense run chase.
After a rare failure in the semi-final against Pakistan, he capped off the memorable tournament by guiding India home in the run chase against Sri Lanka in the company of MS Dhoni.
He was a revelation with the ball as he stepped up as the 5th bowler in crunch matches by picking up crucial wickets at a reasonable economy rate.
Most remarkably, Yuvraj played the tournament when he was battling cancer. Though it was diagnosed only later in the year, Yuvraj was suffering from serious health issues throughout the tournament. This surely is an inspirational story to look up to.
#5 Sachin Tendulkar steps up
‘He carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, so it’s time we carried him on our shoulders’ was what an elated Virat Kohli said when asked about the gesture to carry Sachin Tendulkar around the Wankhede Stadium during the victory lap. The Indian team were playing to bring happiness to the fans at home, but they repeatedly mentioned that they wanted to win the cup for Tendulkar.
Tendulkar was in imperious form throughout the tournament. Though his tons against England and South Africa didn’t translate into victorious, it was a treat watching the master at his best. He stepped up in the quarter-final and semi-final matches against Australia and Pakistan with crucial fifties.
While his innings against Australia set the tone for a tricky run chase, his knock against Pakistan would be amongst one of his most important ones. Though his knock was bereft of fluency and he was incredibly dropped four times, he top scored with 85 hard-earned runs.
He ended the tournament as the second highest run scorer with 482 runs, just 18 behind Tillakaratne Dilshan and finally as a World Cup winner in his sixth and final World Cup.
#4 Yuvi-Raina stand in the quarterfinals
Chasing a target of 260 runs against defending champions Australia on a slow pitch at Motera, India got off to a good start with fifties from Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir.
However, wickets at regular intervals meant that India were in a spot of bother at 187 for 5 with skipper Dhoni walking back. Suresh Raina walked in, but with a lack of match practice and runs under his belt. Luckily for India, the in-form Yuvraj was still at the crease.
Raina provided ample support to Yuvraj in the middle, who displayed immense maturity in tackling the Aussie pacers. The pair slowly but steadily started to inch closer to the match. They mixed caution with aggression and found the boundary at regular intervals. As India got closer to the target, Raina grew in confidence and started to open out.
In the end, a blazing cover drive from Yuvraj off Brett Lee sealed the win to set up a semi-final encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan at Mohali.
#3 Sehwag blazes away at the start
The stage was all set for a cracker of a semi-final between the rivals. This thought was more than just a World Cup semi-final as political tensions between the two countries made it a matter of immense pride. One person who didn’t show any pressure is Virender Sehwag.
Sehwag walked out to pace Pakistan’s talismanic paceman Umar Gul and got off to a blazing start. Gul’s second over cost 21 runs which included 5 boundaries. A clearly rattled Umar Gul went for two more boundaries in his third over. India got 47 runs in the first 5 overs, 38 of which were scored by Sehwag himself.
His brief stay at the crease was brought to end by Wahab Riaz in the sixth over but his 38 from 25 balls included 8 boundaries off Umar Gul’s bowling. Gul never recovered from the hammering and conceded 69 runs off his 8 overs. This start by Viru propelled India to a decent score off 260.
#2 Harbhajan’s double strike against Pakistan
Fans felt India were around 25-30 runs short of the ideal score in the semi-final. However, 260 was still very much defendable against an unpredictable Pakistan side which was under pressure. Pakistan started well but the introduction of the spinners slowed the innings down as they lost wickets at regular intervals to slip to 106 for 4 in 26 overs.
Umar Akmal walked in with a clear sign of intent and began to put the Indian bowlers under pressure. The dangerous Akmal was on 29 off 23 balls when Pakistan needed 119 off 102 balls.
That’s when Harbhajan Singh decided to take the game by the scruff of the neck. A fantastic arm-ball from around the wicket was too good for the young Akmal and knocked back the stumps.
When India’s nemesis Afridi walked out later on in the innings, the Turbanator came back to send back the dangerous Pakistani captain just as he was looking to take the attack to India. Harbhajan Singh’s double strike killed off Pakistan’s fading hopes.
#1 Dhoni’s stand with Gautam Gambhir
Playing at Wankhede Stadium in the World Cup final, India had the chance to become the first team to win a World Cup at home. A fantastic hundred from Mahela Jayawardene and late innings pyrotechnics from Thisara Perera ensured India had to chase a massive target of 275. India got off to the worst possible start by losing Sehwag in the first over.
Things got worse when home-boy Sachin Tendulkar was snapped up soon after by Mumbai Indians teammate Lasith Malinga. The home crowd was silenced at 30 for 2 and had a mountain to climb. Kohli and Gambhir started the repair work and put on 84 runs for the third wicket before Dilshan dismissed Kohli for 35.
As everyone was expecting an in-form Yuvraj Singh to walk out, out-of-form captain Dhoni took the responsibility on himself to guide the ship. Dhoni walked out to counter the three off-spinners and to keep Yuvraj Singh for the later overs. The decision worked a treat as the duo added 109 for the fourth wicket, with Dhoni taking charge.
He took the attack to the Sri Lankan off-spinners with some unconventional batting. He brought up his first fifty of the tournament under immense pressure. Just as it seemed like the pair would finish it off, an ill-timed slog by Gautam Gambhir saw him walk back to the pavilion for 97, missing out a well-deserved World Cup final hundred.
Man-of-the-Tournament, Yuvraj Singh, walked out to guide India home with balls to spare.
MS Dhoni was there till the end and finished off the innings in style with the iconic six off Kulasekara, deep into the stands to send the crowd and the nation into delirium.
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