ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: India's 28-Year Wait — Dhoni's Six and the Home Title
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was the tenth edition, co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh from 19 February to 2 April 2011. India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 2 April 2011. Sri Lanka scored 274/6 — Mahela Jayawardene 103*. India chased 275 — MS Dhoni finishing the match with a six off Nuwan Kulasekara, scoring 91* from 79 balls. India won with 10 balls remaining. It was India's first World Cup since 1983 — ending a 28-year wait for the title in their own country. The tournament was the last to feature 14 teams in the current format. Virat Kohli scored 35 in the final as a partnership with Dhoni rebuilt the chase after early wickets. Sachin Tendulkar's final World Cup ended with a title.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 was the tenth edition, co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh from 19 February to 2 April 2011. Fourteen teams participated in two groups. India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 2 April 2011 — India's second World Cup title and their first since 1983. It was the first World Cup Final played in India.
Dhoni's Promotion: The Tactical Call That Won the Final
India were 114/3 in the 30th over, chasing 275, when MS Dhoni promoted himself to bat at number 5 — ahead of Yuvraj Singh (who had been the tournament's highest scorer to that point with 362 runs). The tactical reason Dhoni gave afterwards: Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara's angles were more suited to left-arm bowling against a left-hander (Yuvraj is right-handed, so that specific reasoning applied differently). More practically, Dhoni identified Kulasekara's line as more difficult for left-handers and chose to face him himself from the right-hand side. Dhoni and Kohli added 109 runs for the 4th wicket — a partnership that turned the match. When Dhoni hit the final six over long-on off Kulasekara, India were 275/4 — the winning moment, with 10 balls remaining.
Sri Lanka's 274/6: Jayawardene's 103*
Sri Lanka's 274/6 from 50 overs was built around Mahela Jayawardene's 103* from 88 balls — the highest score by a batsman in a losing World Cup Final side. Jayawardene was unbeaten when the Sri Lankan innings ended and had faced the entire innings from first ball to last. Tillakaratne Dilshan (33 from 49 balls) and Kumar Sangakkara (48) also contributed. India's bowling — Zaheer Khan 2/60, Yuvraj Singh 2/49 — restricted Sri Lanka below the 290-300 total their batting might have reached.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Dhoni's decision to promote himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup Final considered one of cricket's greatest captaincy calls?
Dhoni's decision to promote himself to number 5 ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup Final — with India at 114/3 in the 30th over — is considered one of cricket's greatest captaincy calls for several reasons. Context: Yuvraj Singh was the tournament's Player of the Tournament with 362 runs, five wickets, and multiple match-winning innings. Conventional logic — and what the crowd of 33,000 expected — was that the highest scorer of the tournament would come in next at the fall of the third wicket. Dhoni's reasoning: he identified a specific tactical advantage in him facing Kulasekara from the right (Kulasekara's angle into a right-hander was less threatening than his angle into a left-hander, where the ball swings in toward the pads). More broadly, Dhoni's calmness under pressure — as a wicketkeeper accustomed to watching the game from behind the stumps for 50 overs — meant his match awareness at that moment was particularly acute. He knew what Sri Lanka's bowling plan was, he knew where the gaps were, and he knew he could execute under the specific pressure of a World Cup Final better than anyone other than himself. The outcome: Dhoni and Kohli added 109 runs for the 4th wicket; Dhoni finished 91* with the winning six. Yuvraj, batting at 6, never needed to face a ball. The non-decision became as significant as the decision itself — by coming in himself, Dhoni removed the need to gamble on Yuvraj performing in a chase situation, and the combination of his own experience and Kohli's composure (35 from 49 balls) was exactly the partnership the chase needed.