The victory of the 2011 World Cup which became a landmark in India is recalled because of the match-winning innings of MS Dhoni in Wankhede. What happened behind his surprising elevation to the batting order has now been revealed by Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar on MS Dhoni’s promotion
A fan on Reddit asked Sachin whether this claim by Virender Sehwag was true that it was his idea to send Dhoni ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the final. The batting great elaborated the plan that later defined the win of India.
Virat Kohli was out after making 35 runs and India was 114/3 trying to reach 275 against Sri Lanka in the final. It is at this point Dhoni, not Yuvraj, who was in form, came out to bat at number five. The next momentous thing that occurred was an unforgettable 109 run partnership between Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir. Dhoni was there to the finish, scoring an unbeaten 91 off 79 balls including eight boundaries and two sixes.
The reason behind Sachin’s decision
Sachin justified his idea to promote MS Dhoni in the batting order. According to him, it was a form thing but also a thing of disrupting the bowling rhythm of Sri Lanka.
“There were 2 reasons (behind his idea to promote Dhoni up the order). The left-right batting combination would have upset the two off-spinners, also Muralitharan had played for CSK (from 2008-2010) and MS had played him for 3 seasons in the nets,” said Sachin during his AMA.
The Indian myth opined that the fact that Dhoni knew Muttiah Muralitharan in the Chennai Super Kings training sessions gave the captain an upper hand. This was combined with the fact that having left and right-handers alternating was disruptive, and thus a tactical move.
MS Dhoni’s innings that changed history
The initiative was a brilliant step. Dhoni easily dealt with the spin, rotated strike and built pressure free partnerships. His calm violence in the final overs gave India their sixth world cup trophy after a lapse of 28 years.
Gautam Gambhir also played a crucial innings of 97 but Dhoni finished with an unbeaten 91 as the iconic image of the night. His 6 over long-on is one of the most glorified moments in Indian cricket history.
Sachin Tendulkar’s World Cup dream fulfilled
Whereas Dhoni ended the match in style, the 2011 tournament was also special to Sachin Tendulkar. It was his 50-over World Cup and he is playing his last one, he finally got to hold the trophy in his sixth attempt.
Sachin was the highest run-getter of India with 482 runs in nine matches with an average of 53.55 and two centuries and two fifties to his name. He was the second highest scorer of the tournament and it was once again a testament of how he was India biggest match-winner of decades.
The genius of promoting Dhoni did not only alter the fate of the final, but also highlighted the cricketing wisdom of Sachin. It was a moment, when strategy and execution went in unison and India had one of the best moments in its cricketing history.
ALSO READ: It’s Official! Sachin Tendulkar Confirms Arjun’s Engagement to Saaniya, Says ‘We’re All Excited’
