ICC World Cup 2011- India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
India hosted the ICC World Cup for the third time, along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The last two times in 1987 and 1996, India had made it into the semi-finals, but under a new captain and with this being Sachin Tendulkar’s sixth and final chance to lift the coveted trophy, the Men in Blue were extra determined to win.
Placed in Group B with England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and Ireland; India started off the tournament with a massive win over Bangladesh in Dhaka, scoring 370 runs with Virender Sehwag and Virat Kohli scoring centuries.
Another high scoring encounter against England ended up in a tie as Sachin Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss scored centuries. Netherlands and Ireland suffered losses as Yuvraj Singh shined with the bat and the ball. South Africa handed India their first loss in the group stage despite a ton from Tendulkar. The Men in Blue ended the group stage with a win over the West Indies with Yuvraj Singh hitting a good century.
India then faced defending champions Australia in the quarter-finals in Ahmedabad. The tightly fought match saw Ricky Ponting’s century taking Australia to 260/6. But then half-centuries from Gambhir, Tendulkar and Yuvraj and a quick 34* from Suresh Raina took India into the semi-finals, where they faced Pakistan in Mohali.
India batted first and Tendulkar’s 85 anchored the team to a competitive 260/9. Despite best efforts from Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah, Pakistan managed 231 runs and India made it into their third World Cup final.
Sri Lanka met India in the final in a packed Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Sri Lanka batted first and Mahela Jayawardene scored a sublime ton to take them 274/6. In return, Lasith Malinga removed Sehwag for a duck and Tendulkar for 18 runs. Then Gambhir (97), first with Kohli (35) and then captain MS Dhoni himself (91*) took India closer to the victory.
MS Dhoni earned the win by hitting that unforgettable six off Kulasekara and the whole country went into a tizzy as India became world champions for the second time and Dhoni was named the Player of the finals.
