On this day, April 2, in 2011, India became ICC ODI world champions for the second time when MS Dhoni hit Nuwan Kulasekara for a six at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. It was after 28 years that India had lifted the World Cup and came during a golden for the Men in Blue side.
Today in 2024, the nation is celebrating the 13th anniversary of the event and Virat Kohli, who played an important cameo in the final against Sri Lanka, reminisced about the unforgettable experience of lifting the coveted trophy on home soil.
Kohli was instrumental, scoring 35 runs off 49 deliveries at a strike rate of 71.43. His important partnership of 83 runs for third wicket with Gautam Gambhir lay the groundwork for India's successful pursuit of Sri Lanka's 275-run goal.
Kohli expressed the profound significance of winning the World Cup in front of the home crowd in a video shared by RCB, his IPL franchise.
Kohli recounted, "The fact that we played in Wankhede and we ended up winning is always gonna be special thing winning in front of your home fans is an experience I will never ever forget and that night, the songs that were been played, like Vande Mataram. Goosebumps that we all felt is always gonna be a core memory for me."
Here is the video:
Gautam Gambhir's 97-run innings and MS Dhoni's unbeaten 91* proved to be the cornerstones of India's success, guiding the 'Men in Blue' to a triumphant chase of Kumar Sangakkara's 275-run goal. Dhoni's outstanding performance earned him the prestigious title of 'Player of the Match'.
