2011 Cricket World Cup: Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar turn nostalgic on India's World Cup-winning anniversary

“Dhoni finishes off in style! A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years! The Party starts in the dressing and it’s the Indian captain who has been absolutely magnificent in the night of the final….” – These words by Ravi Shastri, the then commentator and the former Team India head coach will be remembered by all throughout their lives!

The then captain of India, Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a six and hit the winning runs by hitting a maximum and lead India to lift the prestigious trophy. And, April 2, 2011, becomes a memorable day in the history of Indian cricket.

As far as the game was concerned, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and decided to have a bat first. Indian bowlers kept them under the pressure and bowled economical spells too along with picking up scalps. But, Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene had some other plans as he scored a scintillating 103* off just 88 balls and his knock helps Sri Lanka put up a respectable score of 275 runs on the board.

While chasing, India’s dynamic duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag opened the innings. However, Sri Lanka’s fast bowler Lasith Malinga trapped Virender Sehwag in front of the stumps in just the 2nd ball of India’s chase and also removed the batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar, soon after. They were reduced to 31/2 within 7 overs when Gautam Gambhir and the young 22-year-old Virat Kohli started to resurrect the innings.

READ MORE: 2011 Cricket World Cup: How Mike Horn inspired Sachin Tendulkar and India

Kohli and Gautam Gambhir added a crucial 83 run partnership with timely boundaries and rotation of the strike as well. But Kohli could manage only 35 runs and his dismissal brought the then Indian captain MS Dhoni in the middle. He decided to promote himself up the batting order and came ahead of the most consistent player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh.

Having played the second fiddle in the beginning, Dhoni allowed Gambhir to play his own game without any pressure and soon they reached one point when the required target was below 100. Just when it looked they were on the verge of winning, Gambhir got out just three shorts of a hundred. However, MS Dhoni didn’t let the pressure fall on Yuvraj Singh and took the charge. With occasional boundaries and rotating strikes, they reach the end of the chase when Dhoni hit a maximum off Nuwan Kulasekara and sealed the deal.

With this, India won the World Cup after 28 long years. This is still fresh in every cricket fan. Here is how they reacted to the win.