Former ICC umpire, Australia's Simon Taufel is one of the most respected officials and has had the honor of officiating the Cricket World Cup final, but he revealed that he experienced this honor twice during the 2011 World Cup which was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Taufel, who considered one the best umpires in the world, was among the officials to officiate both the seismic semi-final clash between India and Pakistan in Mohali and the historic final featuring India against Sri Lanka later that week in Mumbai.
The 2011 World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan was attended by record fans, Bollywood celebrities, and the Prime Ministers of both nations in Mohali, Taufel recalled the magical night when the Indian cricket team defeated Men in Green by 27 runs to reach the final
It was really a dream game for Taufel, winner of the five consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards between 2004 and 2008, as he recalled the unforgettable night, saying he felt like the whole world had their private jets parked at Chandigarh Airport after seeing the crowd and noise in Mohali.
Taufel told ICC: “The semi-final in Mohali was certainly a wonderful occasion and in a lot of ways, it was a final in itself. It seemed like the whole world was watching us, it seemed like the whole world had their private jets parked at Chandigarh Airport.”
He further added, “Already the city of Mumbai was in celebration mode in anticipation of what I would call a second final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. You look at the full house of the crowd and the noise that is going on, and I remember turning to Aleem and said 'good luck hearing anything tonight, and may all of your outside edges be loud ones'.”
Recalling MS Dhoni’s humongous six off Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Kulasekara in the 2011 ICC World Cup Final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the former umpire said: “I remember the ball being hit out of the park and in some ways, you think 'thank god that is over and we've got through the event relatively unscathed.
While other people are celebrating or other people are consoling each other, for us umpires it is all about the sense of relief that we have actually gotten through it.”
Taufel signed off by saying, “Nothing significant or major has happened to be a talking point or a distracting issue from an umpiring team perspective and that is a great thing and we can just walk in the room and just relax now.”
(With ANI Inputs)
