A decade ago, Wankhede Stadium witnessed cheers of celebration after MS Dhoni finished the World Cup Final in style by hitting a towering six.
The wicket-keeper batsman not only gave millions of Indians a memory worth revisiting throughout their lives but also fulfilled the long-cherished dream of batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. India had last won a World Cup in 1983 under the leadership of Kapil Dev.
Cricket fans today are celebrating the historic 2011 World Cup triumph over Sri Lanka. Veteran cricketers couldn’t hold themselves from sharing their feeling on social media.
Taking to Twitter, Raina shared the 2011 World Cup final pictures and wrote, “#10years of winning the World Cup, fulfilling the dream of every Indian around the world. It’s such a nostalgic feeling where I can relive each moment of lifting the trophy & making our country proud. It will be cherished forever. #Worldcup2011 #IndianCricketTeam @BCCI,” Raina tweeted.
#10years of winning the World Cup, fulfilling the dream of every Indian around the world. It’s such a nostalgic feeling where I can relive each moment of lifting the trophy & making our country proud. It will be cherished forever. #Worldcup2011 #IndianCricketTeam @BCCI 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/IFOttlXbUr
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) April 2, 2021
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday termed April 2, 2011, as the “most important day” of his life as on this day, he was part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup title for the country after a long wait of 28 years.
“Unbelievable, 2nd of April, that day was the most important day I would say of my career, of my life. I was watching my dreams come true, the way the love was flowing, everyone had a smile on their face and was swaying with happiness. It was not just our win, it was India’s win,” the veteran spinner said in a video posted by his IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
🇮🇳🏆 2nd April 2011 when we all indians became the world champions..thank you for your love and support,prayers can’t believe it’s already 10 yrs @sachin_rt @GautamGambhir @virendersehwag @imVkohli @YUVSTRONG12 @msdhoni @ImRaina @iamyusufpathan @ImZaheer @munafpa99881129 pic.twitter.com/ftOWWGyHUX
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 2, 2021
Harbhajan played all nine matches of the tournament and scalped nine wickets at an impressive economy of under 4.5. His best figures of 3/53 came against South Africa — the only match which India lost in the showpiece event.
India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in the summit clash played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Men in Blue chased down the target riding on brilliant innings of 97 and 91* from Gautam Gambhir and skipper MS Dhoni respectively.
Tendulkar, known as the ‘God of Cricket’, had waited 22 years to lift the trophy and on April 2, 2011, his dream finally came true on his home ground. India had won its first World Cup under Kapil Dev’s leadership in 1983 and they were not able to lay hands on the coveted trophy until 2011.