MS Dhoni led from the front and guided India to victory in the 2011 ICC World Cup final with a six that still remains etched in every fan’s mind.
Years after the memorable effort by the Men in Blue at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Dhoni opened up on why he promoted himself up the batting order, before Yuvraj Singh, who was in great touch during the tournament. Dhoni, who remained unbeaten on 91 off 79 balls, was adjudged the ‘Man of the match’.
“I knew most of the bowlers of Sri Lanka as they were part of the Chennai Super Kings earlier. I promoted myself because Muralitharan was bowling at that time. I have played him a lot in the CSK nets and I was confident that I will be able to score runs freely against him,” the former skipper said during a promotional event.
“That was one of the main reasons why I pushed myself up the order during the final,” Dhoni further said.
#Thala spilling the secret behind the success of the promotion up the order in 2011 Final! #Yellove it is! #WhistlePodu 💛🦁 pic.twitter.com/ypcjhW6Mu6
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) November 22, 2018
Since that ICC event, Dhoni has often been seen finishing games for India in style, most of the times by hitting a six.
In the final, India lost both openers – Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar – early and were steadied by an 83-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.
After Kohli’s dismissal, Dhoni took the onus on him and forged a solid 109-run partnership with Gambhir (97) to motor India forward in the run-chase.
With 27 runs required in the last four overs, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh played patiently to move India closer towards the target.
And it was in the 49th over when Dhoni smashed a good-length delivery by Nuwan Kulasekara for a six to win the World Cup for India after 28 years.
