Sports
Ten years on from the inspired gamble that won the World Cup for India
A decade on from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, relive the showpiece final of the incredible tournament.
MS Dhoni steered India to World Cup glory with a majestic innings, smashing the winning runs with a huge six over long-on.
The winning moment was a fitting finale for a spectacular roller-coaster of a match between the tournament joint-hosts, with a packed crowd in Mumbai put through the emotional ringer before the celebrations could truly get underway.
The First Innings: Sri Lanka recover to 274/6
Zaheer Khan’s remarkable opening five overs put Sri Lanka in trouble early on, with the Indian seamer going for just six runs in the spell and taking the scalp of opener Upul Tharanga – who fell for two runs off a painful 20 deliveries.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (33) and Kumar Sangakkara (48) got the innings going, but their dismissals put huge pressure on Mahela Jayawardene to deliver a potentially match-winning score from No. 4. But deliver is exactly what he did, finishing with an unbeaten 103* and putting on 63 from the last five overs alongside the power-hitting Thisara Perera (22*).
Khan was on the receiving end of much of the late damage, coming back from his impressive opening five overs to concede an eye-watering 54 off his remaining five to spoil what could have been special figures.
The Second Innings: Gambhir and Dhoni shine in India’s reply
Some supporters even left the ground as a brilliant opening spell from Lasith Malinga had India reeling at 31/2. The Sri Lankan strike bowler removed Virender Sehwag (0) with just the second delivery of the chase, and the Wankhede Stadium was reduced to pin-dropping silence when he had hometown hero Sachin Tendulkar caught behind for just 18.
Gautam Gambhir dug in to rebuild the innings, and was joined by captain MS Dhoni at the crease when Virat Kohli fell to leave the score 114/3 with 28.2 overs remaining.
There was some surprise to see that Dhoni had taken the brave gamble to promote himself above the in-form Yuvraj Singh in the batting order. But the decision – based on Dhoni having a better chance to bat through Muttiah Muralitharan’s remaining overs – paid off, with the skipper and Gambhir putting on a partnership worth 109 runs to give India a real chance.
There was still plenty of work to do when Gambhir fell to Perera just three runs shy of his century, but Yuvraj played a steady 21* from 24 balls at one end while his captain let fly at the other to guide India to victory.
The fact India reached their target with ten deliveries remaining makes the final overs look comfortable in hindsight, but it was Dhoni who removed that pressure, with the wicketkeeper-batsman smoking 20 runs off his last seven balls to avoid facing a potentially tricky final over against Malinga.
How the Captains Reacted
Sangakkara: “I’m very proud of everyone, especially Mahela who rose to the occasion and put up a great hundred. Both Sri Lanka and India will be proud with the way they have played, but India deserved this title, the way they played in front of a great crowd. The only way to stop India is to get at least seven wickets. Gautam was outstanding and Dhoni stepped up and performed. Congrats India, you were the better side today.”
Dhoni: “I took a quite few decisions tonight, if we hadn’t won I would have been asked quite a few questions: Why no Ashwin? Why Sreesanth? Why no Yuvraj, why did I bat ahead?! That pushed me and motivated to do well. I had a point to prove to myself. Virat and Gautam batted brilliantly; lots of singles. Then with the help of bit of dew we put pressure on the spinners. I would have liked Gautam to go on and get that big hundred.”
Tendulkar’s Crowning Glory
India’s greatest ever batsman was carried around his home stadium on the shoulders of his team-mates after winning the World Cup in his own city – a special moment for a special player.
A score of just 18 runs in the final wasn’t what the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium had been hoping for. But Tendulkar had already produced a tournament-defining performance to get the team to the final, picking up the Player of the Match award against Pakistan, and his teammate Kohli summed up the overriding sentiment when he said:
“Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It is time we carried him on our shoulders.” (ICC)
An ODI between Canada and Netherlamds in King City Toronto on Tuesday was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. The fixture was part of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, which is part of the qualification pathway for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The match was abandoned just 4.1 overs into the Netherlands innings after they had chosen to bat. They were 15 for 1, with Max O’Dowd the batter dismissed for a duck in the second over. The pitch had uneven bounce and the batters were struck several times during the short passage of play.
On June 12, four days before the abandoned match, the ICC had issued a statement saying the pitch at King City that was used for an ODI between USA and the Netherlands on June 8 had been given an “unsatisfactory” rating and one demerit point.
“This was a pitch that fell below the standard expected for this level of cricket,” match referee Phil Thompson had said about the surface for the USA-Netherlands match. “Both captains expressed disappointment with how it turned out, and the match officials assessed it as ‘very poor’. The inconsistent bounce created challenging and potentially unsafe playing conditions. Taking all factors into consideration, I believe the pitch merits an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating.”
According to the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, pitches that get an “unsatisfactory” rating will be given one demerit point, while an “unfit” pitch rating will result in three demerit points for the venue. Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period, and an accumulation of six demerit points will result in the venue being suspended from hosting international matches for 12 months (12 demerit points will lead to a 24-month ban).
(Cricinfo)
Joshua Da Silva and Amir Jangoo have earned recalls to West Indies’ squad for the two-match World Test Championship series at home against Sri Lanka starting later this month, while the two Josephs, Alzarri and Shamar, are back after missing the tours of India and New Zealand late last year because of injuries.
Trevin Imalch had kept wicket when West Indies last played Test cricket, in New Zealand last December, but Da Silva, 33 Test matches old, has returned after scoring 996 runs across the last two seasons of the West Indies Championship. Imlach, who failed with the bat in New Zealand with a total of 81 runs across six innings – after scoring 33 runs in his only Test in India – has been named captain of a West Indies Select XI to play the Sri Lankans in a tour match in Coolidge from June 18 to 21. Roston Chase will continue to captain the Test side.
West Indies vs Sri Lanka Tests
Jangoo, dropped after only one Test appearance, in Multan in January 2025, where he scored 0 and 30, has returned to the side following a fruitful WI Championship in which he scored 411 runs in seven innings. He finished second on the scorers’ table there, only behind Da Silva, who scored 413 in seven outing. The highlight of Jangoo’s season was the 203 not out he scored for Trinidad & Tobago against Leeward Islands
The pair of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, meanwhile, last played Test cricket during the home series against Australia in mid-2025.”Every Test series is an opportunity for us to grow as a team and strengthen our identity,” Darren Sammy, the head coach, said in a Cricket West Indies statement. “Sri Lanka are a quality side, so we know we’ll have to be at our best, but we’re excited about the challenge ahead.”For us, it’s about playing with discipline, showing character when the game gets tough, and representing the West Indies with pride. The players have been putting in the work, and we’re looking forward to putting on a strong display for our fans across the Caribbean.”
Some of the squad members are currently participating in a high-performance training camp in Antigua, which began on June 12 and will run till June 22. The members of the Test squad who were also part of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka – West Indies lost the ODIs and won the T20Is – will join the camp on June 15. The Tests will be played in North Sound from June 25 to 29 and July 3 to 7.
“This is a key component of our preparations heading into the series, providing players and coaches with valuable time to enhance and improve the skills we want to see sharpened, based on the areas we need to focus our attention on when facing this opponent,” Sammy said about the camp. “It also gives us the opportunity to put clear objectives and plans in place for the conclusion of the summer against Pakistan.
“Additionally, the four-day warm-up game prior to the series provides the chance for some of our Test hopefuls to play in high-intensity action and create the avenue for more competition within the squad ahead of the upcoming and future series.”
West Indies are currently bottom of the nine-team WTC table, having lost seven of their eight games in the ongoing cycle.
West Indies squad for Test series against Sri Lanka
Ireland Women 118/9 in 20 overs (Alana Dalzelle 14, Orla Prendergast 26, Leah Paul 10, Alice Tector 10, Louise Little 26*; Lauren Bell 1-39, Linsey Smith 1-20, Sophie Ecclestone 3-22, Charlie Dean 2-11, Dani Gibson 2-10) lost to England Women 119/6 in 17.3 overs (Dani Wyatt Hodge 16, Nat Sciver-Brunt 48, Heather Knight 26; Aimee Maguire 2-23, Orla Prendergast 2-17) by 4 wickets
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