On This Day: India win ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 by defeating Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium

India win ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Tomorrow will mark the ninth anniversary of India’s historic triumph against Sri Lanka in 2011.

On this day in 2011, India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets to win their second ICC Cricket World Cup after 28 years. The historic match was played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and is still afresh in the minds of the Indian fans.

After the then Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and opted to bat, the visitors posted 274/6 in 50 overs on the back of former captain Mahela Jayawardene’s 14th ODI century. Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the 17th over, Jayawardene top-scored for his team with 103* (88) with the help of 13 fours.

With bowling figures of 10-0-49-2, India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh was the pick of their bowlers. Pacer Zaheer Khan (India’s highest wicket-taker in the tournament), who bowled three consecutive maiden overs with the new ball, had also dismissed two batsmen.

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India losing opening batsmen Virender Sehwag (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (18) cheaply called for widespread tension across the nation.

While an 83-run partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli (35) steadied the Indian innings, a 109-run stand between Gambhir and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni put India in a winning position.

Gambhir, who was unfortunate to not register his 11th ODI century after doing all the hard work, ended up losing patience in the 42nd over after scoring 97 (122) with the help of nine fours.

Dhoni, who had promoted himself above ‘Man of the Series’ Yuvraj Singh (21), ended up scoring 91 (79) with the help of eight fours and two sixes as he hit a celebrated six off Nuwan Kulasekara to seal the chase in the penultimate over.

India win ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

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About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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