My OperaTuesday, September 20, 2011 5:35:12 AM
Chasing 275 for a
historic win, the Indians
held their nerves as
they rode on Gautam
Gambhir's 97 and
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's
unbeaten 91 to overhaul
the target with 10 balls
to spare and send the
cricket-crazy nation into
a frenzy.
The vociferous, jam-
packed crowd at the
Wankhede stadium
erupted in wild
celebrations as Dhoni hit
the winning six runs to
give India their biggest
cricketing moment and
crown themselves the
ODI world champions, in
addition to being the
number one Test team.
The World Cup title
triumph, coming as it
did after more than
two decades, was
doubly special for Sachin
Tendulkar since it was
the only silverware
missing from his
collection.
It was also a fitting
farewell to coach Gary
Kirsten, for whom it
was the last day in
office as the Indian
coach.
It was a momentous
Saturday night marked
by high emotion and
poignant scenes as
India, for long the
game's financial power,
stamped their
supremacy on the field
as well, eight years
after Sourav Ganguly's
team had made an
abortive attempt to
scale the pinnacle.
The players, many of
them with tears in their
eyes, rushed to the
ground to hug each
other as Dhoni finished
it off in style by hitting
a six, as fire crackers lit
up the evening sky to
mark the moment.
The highlight of the
Lankan innings was
Mahela Jayawardene's
rollicking 103 as Sri
Lanka capitalised on the
batting powerplay to
post a decent 274 for
six.
Electing to bat after
winning the toss,
Jayawardene used his
vast experience to good
effect and anchored the
Lankan innings together.
The islanders,
desperate to regain the
coveted cup after
nearly 15 years, lost
wickets at regular
intervals against the
Indians, who were
spurred on by a
vociferous jam-packed
crowd.
The Indian bowlers
were disciplined in the
first half of the innings
but conceded as many
as 63 runs in the
batting powerplay to
undo all the good work.
Apart from
Jayawardene's 88-ball
knock, captain Kumar
Sangakkara (48)
Tillakaratne Dilshan (33)
and Nuwan Kulasekara
(32) were the other
notable performers.
The Indian innings
began on a disastrous
note as the destructive
Virender Sehwag was
dismissed in the very
second ball of the
innings with paceman
Lasith Malinga scalping
the prized wicket.
Sehwag was hit on the
pads by an incoming
delivery by Malinga as
he went for a flick.
Umpire Aleem Dar ruled
him out before he
asked for review but
television replays
showed that the ball
would have hit the
stumps.
Tendulkar, playing in
what probably is his
last World Cup game,
entertained his home
crowd with a couple of
delightful boundaries
while Gambhir also
looked for runs at the
other end.
The Indians suffered a
huge jolt went Malinga
struck again by
dismissing the
champion batsman as
he snicked an away-
going delivery and
captain Sangakkara
latched on to a low
catch. A hushed silence
descended on the
Wankhede stadium as
he started his walk
back to the pavilion.
Gambhir drove
Kulasekara for a
boundary in the extra
cover region to notch up
4000 ODI runs while
Virat Kohli also pulled
the bowler to the
boundary in the same
over.
Gambhir was lucky to
get a reprieve in spinner
Suraj Randiv's first over
when Kulasekara
dropped him at the long
off region.
The third-wicket pair of
Gambhir and Kohli put on
83 runs before Dilshan
broke the partnership
by taking a brilliant
acrobatic return catch.
The out-of-form Dhoni
came ahead of Yuvraj
to keep the left-right
combination going and
was immediately given
two 'lives' by the
Lankans -- first
Sangakkara messing up
a stumping chance off
Muralitharan and then
Dilshan dropping a
return catch as he
collided with non-striker
Gambhir.
Dhoni, however, made
the most of the Sri
Lankan lapses to
rediscover his form
which had deserted him
in the mega event.
Dhoni and Gambhir
scored at a brisk pace
to keep India in the
hunt.
The pair stitched 109
runs for the fourth
wicket before Gambhir
paid the price for a
horrendous stroke, just
three runs short of
what would have been
a well-deserved
century.
Gambhir made room to
cut the ball but missed
it completely to see his
stumps dislodged.
Earlier, both the Indian
new ball bowlers
bowled a tidy line and
length and did not allow
the Sri Lankan openers
to get off to a flying
start while the fielding
was also sharp.
Pace spearhead
Zaheer's first three
overs were maidens
and that put some
pressure on the two
Lankan openers who
were not being able to
capitalise on the
powerplay overs.
Dilshan broke the
stranglehold by hitting
the first boundary of
the innings in the 5th
over by pulling
Sreesanth to the
square leg fence.
In the same over, he
produced a delightful
cut to the point for his
second boundary.
Tharanga looked
completely out of sorts
at the other end as he
found it difficult to find
the gaps as Zaheer
bowled a searching
length right through his
opening spell.
Zaheer drew first blood
in his fourth over by
evicting Tharanga with
an outgoing delivery and
Virender Sehwag
holding on to diving
catch at first slip much
to the delight of a
capacity crowd at the
stadium. Tharanga
scored just two runs
off 20 balls.
The Lankans could
manage just 31 runs in
the first ten overs,
their lowest in the
tournament. That was
largely because of
Zaheer's excellent first
spell of 5-3-6-1.
Dilshan and Sangakkara
put on 43 runs for the
second wicket before
Harbhajan Singh struck
for his team by getting
rid of Dilshan (33), who
scored 500 runs in the
tournament.
Dilshan went for a
sweep but the ball hit
his gloves and lobbed
onto his stumps to
trigger off wild
celebrations in the
galleries.
Sangakkara and
Jayawardene then took
upon themselves the
task of rebuilding the
innings and the duo
scored at a decent pace
to steer the team to a
comfortable position.
Yuvraj Singh, who had a
dream tournament with
both the bat and the
ball, was introduced into
the attack in the 22nd
over but the two
experienced batsmen
were not really troubled
by his left arm spin.
It was Yuvraj who
finally broke the 62-run
third wicket partnership
which was assuming
dangerous proportions
by dismissing
Sangakkara who tried
to cut a wide ball
outside the off stump
but only succeeded in
edging the ball to Dhoni
behind the stump. His
knock of 48 came off
67 balls and contained
five boundaries.
It was left to the well-
settled Jayawardene to
hold the innings
together and he found
an able ally in Thilan
Samaraweera to take
the Sri Lankan total
close to the 180 mark.
Yuvraj was again
instrumental in breaking
the fourth- wicket
partnership by
accounting for
Samaraweera. Umpire
Simon Taufel turned
down the leg before
appeal but the Indians
went for the referral
and television replays
showed that the ball
would have hit the
stumps.
New batsman Chamara
Kapugedera did not
survive long as he
offered a simple catch
to Suresh Raina at extra
cover off a slower
delivery from Zaheer,
leaving the visitors in a
spot of bother at 182
for five.
Jayawardene and
Nuwan Kulasekara then
teamed up ensure that
Sri Lanka had a
competitive total on the
board as they went
about accumulating
runs in the batting
powerplay, which was
taken in the last five
overs.
India: Mahendra Singh
Dhoni (capt), Virender
Sehwag, Gautam
Gambhir, Sachin
Tendulkar, Virat Kohli,
Yuvraj Singh, Suresh
Raina, Harbhajan Singh,
Zaheer Khan,
Shanthakumaran
Sreesanth, Munaf Patel.
historic win, the Indians
held their nerves as
they rode on Gautam
Gambhir's 97 and
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's
unbeaten 91 to overhaul
the target with 10 balls
to spare and send the
cricket-crazy nation into
a frenzy.
The vociferous, jam-
packed crowd at the
Wankhede stadium
erupted in wild
celebrations as Dhoni hit
the winning six runs to
give India their biggest
cricketing moment and
crown themselves the
ODI world champions, in
addition to being the
number one Test team.
The World Cup title
triumph, coming as it
did after more than
two decades, was
doubly special for Sachin
Tendulkar since it was
the only silverware
missing from his
collection.
It was also a fitting
farewell to coach Gary
Kirsten, for whom it
was the last day in
office as the Indian
coach.
It was a momentous
Saturday night marked
by high emotion and
poignant scenes as
India, for long the
game's financial power,
stamped their
supremacy on the field
as well, eight years
after Sourav Ganguly's
team had made an
abortive attempt to
scale the pinnacle.
The players, many of
them with tears in their
eyes, rushed to the
ground to hug each
other as Dhoni finished
it off in style by hitting
a six, as fire crackers lit
up the evening sky to
mark the moment.
The highlight of the
Lankan innings was
Mahela Jayawardene's
rollicking 103 as Sri
Lanka capitalised on the
batting powerplay to
post a decent 274 for
six.
Electing to bat after
winning the toss,
Jayawardene used his
vast experience to good
effect and anchored the
Lankan innings together.
The islanders,
desperate to regain the
coveted cup after
nearly 15 years, lost
wickets at regular
intervals against the
Indians, who were
spurred on by a
vociferous jam-packed
crowd.
The Indian bowlers
were disciplined in the
first half of the innings
but conceded as many
as 63 runs in the
batting powerplay to
undo all the good work.
Apart from
Jayawardene's 88-ball
knock, captain Kumar
Sangakkara (48)
Tillakaratne Dilshan (33)
and Nuwan Kulasekara
(32) were the other
notable performers.
The Indian innings
began on a disastrous
note as the destructive
Virender Sehwag was
dismissed in the very
second ball of the
innings with paceman
Lasith Malinga scalping
the prized wicket.
Sehwag was hit on the
pads by an incoming
delivery by Malinga as
he went for a flick.
Umpire Aleem Dar ruled
him out before he
asked for review but
television replays
showed that the ball
would have hit the
stumps.
Tendulkar, playing in
what probably is his
last World Cup game,
entertained his home
crowd with a couple of
delightful boundaries
while Gambhir also
looked for runs at the
other end.
The Indians suffered a
huge jolt went Malinga
struck again by
dismissing the
champion batsman as
he snicked an away-
going delivery and
captain Sangakkara
latched on to a low
catch. A hushed silence
descended on the
Wankhede stadium as
he started his walk
back to the pavilion.
Gambhir drove
Kulasekara for a
boundary in the extra
cover region to notch up
4000 ODI runs while
Virat Kohli also pulled
the bowler to the
boundary in the same
over.
Gambhir was lucky to
get a reprieve in spinner
Suraj Randiv's first over
when Kulasekara
dropped him at the long
off region.
The third-wicket pair of
Gambhir and Kohli put on
83 runs before Dilshan
broke the partnership
by taking a brilliant
acrobatic return catch.
The out-of-form Dhoni
came ahead of Yuvraj
to keep the left-right
combination going and
was immediately given
two 'lives' by the
Lankans -- first
Sangakkara messing up
a stumping chance off
Muralitharan and then
Dilshan dropping a
return catch as he
collided with non-striker
Gambhir.
Dhoni, however, made
the most of the Sri
Lankan lapses to
rediscover his form
which had deserted him
in the mega event.
Dhoni and Gambhir
scored at a brisk pace
to keep India in the
hunt.
The pair stitched 109
runs for the fourth
wicket before Gambhir
paid the price for a
horrendous stroke, just
three runs short of
what would have been
a well-deserved
century.
Gambhir made room to
cut the ball but missed
it completely to see his
stumps dislodged.
Earlier, both the Indian
new ball bowlers
bowled a tidy line and
length and did not allow
the Sri Lankan openers
to get off to a flying
start while the fielding
was also sharp.
Pace spearhead
Zaheer's first three
overs were maidens
and that put some
pressure on the two
Lankan openers who
were not being able to
capitalise on the
powerplay overs.
Dilshan broke the
stranglehold by hitting
the first boundary of
the innings in the 5th
over by pulling
Sreesanth to the
square leg fence.
In the same over, he
produced a delightful
cut to the point for his
second boundary.
Tharanga looked
completely out of sorts
at the other end as he
found it difficult to find
the gaps as Zaheer
bowled a searching
length right through his
opening spell.
Zaheer drew first blood
in his fourth over by
evicting Tharanga with
an outgoing delivery and
Virender Sehwag
holding on to diving
catch at first slip much
to the delight of a
capacity crowd at the
stadium. Tharanga
scored just two runs
off 20 balls.
The Lankans could
manage just 31 runs in
the first ten overs,
their lowest in the
tournament. That was
largely because of
Zaheer's excellent first
spell of 5-3-6-1.
Dilshan and Sangakkara
put on 43 runs for the
second wicket before
Harbhajan Singh struck
for his team by getting
rid of Dilshan (33), who
scored 500 runs in the
tournament.
Dilshan went for a
sweep but the ball hit
his gloves and lobbed
onto his stumps to
trigger off wild
celebrations in the
galleries.
Sangakkara and
Jayawardene then took
upon themselves the
task of rebuilding the
innings and the duo
scored at a decent pace
to steer the team to a
comfortable position.
Yuvraj Singh, who had a
dream tournament with
both the bat and the
ball, was introduced into
the attack in the 22nd
over but the two
experienced batsmen
were not really troubled
by his left arm spin.
It was Yuvraj who
finally broke the 62-run
third wicket partnership
which was assuming
dangerous proportions
by dismissing
Sangakkara who tried
to cut a wide ball
outside the off stump
but only succeeded in
edging the ball to Dhoni
behind the stump. His
knock of 48 came off
67 balls and contained
five boundaries.
It was left to the well-
settled Jayawardene to
hold the innings
together and he found
an able ally in Thilan
Samaraweera to take
the Sri Lankan total
close to the 180 mark.
Yuvraj was again
instrumental in breaking
the fourth- wicket
partnership by
accounting for
Samaraweera. Umpire
Simon Taufel turned
down the leg before
appeal but the Indians
went for the referral
and television replays
showed that the ball
would have hit the
stumps.
New batsman Chamara
Kapugedera did not
survive long as he
offered a simple catch
to Suresh Raina at extra
cover off a slower
delivery from Zaheer,
leaving the visitors in a
spot of bother at 182
for five.
Jayawardene and
Nuwan Kulasekara then
teamed up ensure that
Sri Lanka had a
competitive total on the
board as they went
about accumulating
runs in the batting
powerplay, which was
taken in the last five
overs.
India: Mahendra Singh
Dhoni (capt), Virender
Sehwag, Gautam
Gambhir, Sachin
Tendulkar, Virat Kohli,
Yuvraj Singh, Suresh
Raina, Harbhajan Singh,
Zaheer Khan,
Shanthakumaran
Sreesanth, Munaf Patel.
