India Win ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 With Nerves of Steel

By Sreelata S. Yellamrazu

They overcame tremendous odds. They used opportunities optimally. And they never gave up. To sum it up, that has been India’s story in Test cricket and in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to justify why there has been a new belief about this Indian cricket team as they went onto lift the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 trophy at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on the  memorable night of the 2^nd of April, 2011.

        This was not in the realm of the unimaginable. If anything, this is perhaps one of those rare occasions when India have gone in as overwhelming favourites and come out triumphant. In beating Sri Lanka, India not only broke their own World Cup dearth in twenty-eight years since Kapil Dev’s 1983 World Cup winning India squad, but also, became the first host nation to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

      

      Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s squad may be superior on individual talent, but they needed their nerves of steel to come through in a pulsating final match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Chasing a tough ask like 275, even on a benign pitch, would take some getting given that there is the home pressure factor as also, that this is the final of such a major tournament. With everything to lose and a fairy tale story in danger of being cut short, the Indian batsmen responded, arguably a shade better than the bowlers, and the outcome has now become a reason for major celebrations all over the country.

       Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel bowled well but uptil a point where Sri Lanka chose to flex their muscles and make the death overs count. What seemed like a single spill with Sreesanth turned into an upheaval as India went from looking to chase a rather modest Sri Lankan total to facing a challenge, gargantuan by tournament final standards.

       The nightmares of the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 edition in South Africa came back fresh to the mind as Sachin Tendulkar departed behind Virender Sehwag to leave the huge task for the batting line up to follow. Lasith Malinga had done his job and Sri Lanka were decidedly looking better as trophy holders for a second time in their history.

     But the vulnerability of past Indian teams is not a feature with this team, build painstakingly under the sharp, meticulous eye for detail by Gary Kirsten, the Indian coach, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, who runs his ship with a cool mind and strong gut instinct. While it makes Dhoni a shrewd character on the field, perhaps that is a little elusive off it because speaking his mind has tended to sway with the blowing winds at the time.

        This was the opportunity to show that team India were not fragile mentally as they have revealed in the past. And leading with the fortitude of champions was the captain himself, who bravely elevated himself over the man in form and the Player of the Tournament, Yuvraj Singh. But before Dhoni carried India across the second half of the bridge, Sri Lanka ran into a brick wall who goes by the name of Gautam Gambhir.

         Relatively silent by his prolific standards in recent years, Gambhir could not have chosen a better timing to reveal the fortress that India have built around his opener. With Gambhir stoic in his presence at the crease, the change in the complexion of the match was remarkable. From a precipitious position, India’s climb was incredibly sublime, albeit tense. And when the momentum gained ground, Dhoni partnered Gambhir in a fashion that exuded the determination to win the trophy at all costs. That Yuvraj Singh was at the crease to finish it off lent a nice touch given that Yuvraj Singh has been a huge factor in this tournament, winning the Man of the Match trophies four times and playing spectacularly with bat and ball.

          For India, the glory came with grit and guts, and to do it against the likes of Australia in the quarterfinals, overcome both their dangerous sub continent neighbours, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, India have shown that they are here and they mean business. Make no mistake. Living up to the hype is a rather uncommon phenonmenon still, particularly in sport.