Timeline of India’s journey in 2011 World Cup
On the 11th anniversary of India’s first World Cup win after 28 years, we take a look at some of the unspoken moments which had become salient parts of the MS Dhoni-led team’s journey from Mirpur to the Wankhede.
Men in Blue dominate in their first match
On the back of Virender Sehwag’s 175 off 140 balls against Bangladesh in the tournament opener Team India had the perfect start that they were looking for. Apart from Sehwag, young batter Virat Kohli who was playing his World Cup debut match also scored a 100 in Mirpur, as India crushed the home team by 87 runs.
The tie between India and England
Team India were taking on England in their second match of the tournament and scored a mammoth total of 338 runs. However, a lackadaisical bowling performance saw England requiring just 67 in the last 10 overs with eight wickets in hand. Sensing trouble, Dhoni introduced his ace bowler Zaheer Khan as he scalped two wickets in two overs. The match went down to the wire, but none of teams managed to come on top.
Sachin Tendulkar smashes another ton
After thrashing both Ireland and Netherlands, Team India took on South Africa in their fifth group match. Despite the Master Blaster inning of 111 runs against the Proteas, the home side suffered a collapse as they ended on 296/10 in 48.4 overs. The match was a hard-fought one, with South Africa managing to defeat the Men in Blue by just three wickets with two balls to spare.
Yuvraj Singh’s history in making
As the tournament was coming to the business end, veteran allrounder Yuvraj Singh pulled out his A-game from the hat. He played an excellent innings of 113 runs against the West Indies and took two wickets as well. Similarly, Yuvraj played a key role in the quarter-finals against Australia. He scored an unbeaten knock of 57 as India chased the target of 261 runs. Yuvraj was also adjudged player of the tournament in World Cup 2011.
India take down arch-rivals in semis
It was a high-voltage encounter between arch-rivals India and Pakistan at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. Winning the toss in the semi-finals, India posted a decent total of 260 runs in their 50 overs. Sachin Tendulkar (85 off 115) was the stand-out batter for the home side. In reply, Pakistan had a decent start with 103/2. However, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. In the end, it was a very big ask for the Pakistani batters, as they managed to make 231/10.
Gambhir’s tale of another final
Cometh the World Cup final, cometh the man. Gautam Gambhir came to the crease after India were 31/2, chasing 275 runs. The left-handed-batter played an excellent knock of 97 runs along with MS Dhoni (91* off 79 balls), helped the home side to clinch the priced trophy after 28 years.
