Sachin at World Cup 2011 – the dream finish
At the age of 38, this was destined to be Sachin’s last World Cup appearance. The stars had aligned for him – the tournament was held mainly in India, the final was scheduled at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai where Sachin started his domestic cricket and he was three centuries away from completing 100 international tons. It couldn’t get better than this.
For this World Cup, 14 teams were divided into two groups of seven. India played all it’s group matches on home turf except for the opening clash against Bangladesh. Sachin batted at his favorite opening slot and started the innings alongside Virender Sehwag.
In the first match against Bangladesh, Sachin was run out on 28 due to miscommunication between the openers. He stuck through the innings in the following game versus England at Bangalore. Scoring 120 from just 115 balls, the batting legend helped the team post a formidable total of 338. The match ended as a tie.
Next two encounters were against the weaker bowling attacks of Ireland and the Netherlands. Despite getting starts, Sachin failed to capitalize and missed out on big scores. However, he took on Steyn and co in the next match at Nagpur and struck 111 versus South Africa. This was his 99th international hundred and 6th in the World Cup. Unfortunately, India ended up on the losing side.
In the crucial quarterfinal against Australia, Sachin set the base for chasing with his steady knock of 53. His most valuable knock in that World Cup came versus Pakistan in the high-voltage semifinal at Mohali. While Wahab Riaz wrecked the Indian batting lineup at one end, the Master Blaster stood firm at the crease. He made most of the lucky breaks that he received and scored a fighting 85 which proved enough to take India in the final. Sachin was named Man of the match for his effort.
There were extraordinary expectations from Sachin in the final. Playing on his home ground in a World Cup final with one century away from 100 hundreds – this was as perfect as it gets. Sri Lanka batted first and raised a total of 274/6. India lost Sehwag on the second ball of the chase, and all eyes were on Sachin. He struck two spectacular boundaries to get going. However, one ball from Malinga destroyed all dreams as the Indian legend walked back on the score of 18.
Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni then ensured the chase and realized the nation’s dream of lifting the World Cup. The team dedicated the trophy to Sachin Tendulkar for his contribution to the nation. The image of him being lifted by his teammates with the tri-color shall remain in memories for long.
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Sachin finished his World Cup career with the final at Mumbai. His tally of 2,278 runs in the tournament is a record. He joined Pakistan’s Javed Miandad for playing in the most number of World Cups (six). The batting maestro holds the record of most centuries (six) and most fifties in the competition (15). His tally of 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup is another long-standing record.
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