MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar celebrate India's World Cup final win
over Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium on Saturday
Twenty-eight years after Kapil Dev and his team had turned the cricket universe upside down, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his team turned it right side up again by winning the 2011 World Cup.
Perhaps this needs some explaining. For a country flush with talent, money and a billion-strong fanatical following, failure to repeat the 1983 success was beginning to jar. In the years since, India had become the epicentre of the game, but not the best team. Was Indian cricket not good enough or just not ambitious enough?
The answer was provided tellingly in six weeks of riveting cricket, culminating in a pulsating final that now makes India's suzerainty in the game comprehensive. Ranked no 1 in Test for over a year, Dhoni's team is now also No 1 in ODIs, making any further argument puerile.
What has highlighted the rise of Indian cricket under M S Dhoni in the past few years is the emergence of a new ethos in the Indian dressing room which is symptomatic of the New India. This new culture may seem a little brash, but believes in playing hard , and plays to win irrespective of hardships, obstacles and setbacks. For instance, losing the toss (controversially it seemed at first till replays showed that Sangakkara had indeed called heads the first time too), but India put up their best effort yet in the field to save runs which became invaluable in the run chase.
What a change!
From the worst fielding unit in the World Cup to the best had been an amazing turnaround. But led by young guns Kohli, Raina, Sreesanth, Gambhir and a born-again Yuvraj, India's fielding scaled dizzying heights, giving the Lankan top order no leeway for easy runs, despite a sublime century by Mahela Jayawardene, putting them under pressure.
Later, the gritty and robust manner in which Gambhir and Kohli brought their team back into the match after Lasith Malinga had dealt a deadly double blow by removing Sehwag and Tendulkar was further example of this New India ambition.
At 31 for 2, India looked wobbly chasing 275 for victory. Malinga was on fire and the Lankans boasted some fine spinners, led by the redoubtable Muttiah Muralitharan. A couple of wickets at this stage could have made India's task hopeless.
But Gambhir took control admirably and inspired the 22-year-old Kohli into staying with him long enough to steady the innings, put the pressure back on the Lankans. However, when Tillekaratne Dilshan pulled out a moment of magic with his diving return catch to dismiss Kohli and India were again under pressure. Then, Dhoni moved himself up the order to play a stupendous innings under pressure and steer the side to a tremendous victory. After some brief spells of uncertainty in the league phase, his captaincy had been skilful and imaginative, but his batting was still floundering. Dhoni chose the best occasion to make a statement, as batsman and leader.
He could only be faulted for giving Zaheer Khan the last over of the powerplay after two poor overs, but that was really not Dhoni's fault. In fact, he wanted to bowl Munaf but was persuaded by Tendulkar and Zaheer himself to retain the same pattern.
Zaheer, who had bowled an outstanding opening spell, flagged during his last and was hit all over the place by Jayawardene, Kulasekara and Perera. The last powerplay overs cost 63 runs and India were left to chase 275 instead of the 250 that had seemed likely.
Barring a twist or two the final played out to the script which every Indian fan had penned out. There was huge disappointment when Tendulkar was dismissed for 18. A capacity crowd ” indeed the entire Indian diaspora had been praying for that he would get his 100th hundred to mark the crowning glory in what has been the most extraordinary story in modern sport.
But at least Tendulkar finished on the winning side and realised a dream. For Jayawardene, his best was doomed to come to nought. Every centurion in a World Cup final has finished on the winning side. There has perhaps been no better innings in a final, but Jayawardene sadly had to finish a wooden
spooner.
Farewell
For Muttiah Muralitharan, his farewell to cricket was even more pathos-laden. Apart from Malinga, spin was to be Lanka's weapon and Murali the spearhead. But the bad knee affected his delivery stride and follow-through and Murali barely got a single delivery to fizz or bounce.
Frequently he was hit through the covers off the back-foot - a rare sight - and this seemed to demoralize his teammates as much as it emboldened the Indian batsmen, so much so that Sangakkara preferred not to bring him back in the death overs, opting instead for the young Kulasekara.
This was a sign perhaps that Sangakkara had perhaps thrown in the towel. Off the second delivery of the 49th over, Dhoni lofted the hapless Kulasekara over the long on fence to seal Lanka's fate and earn his team immortality
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