2011 World Cup was held jointly by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from 19th February to 2nd April. 14 teams took part, divided into two groups of 7 teams each. Top four teams in each group qualified for the quarterfinals stage.
Under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Men in Blue were placed with South Africa, England, Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands. The Indian team had a top-quality side which included Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir. They lost only 1 match in the whole tournament.
Reliving India’s 1983 World Cup Journey
Matches were played in coloured clothing’s and under lights. Each innings comprised of 50 overs each. India became the first host team to win the World Cup.
Here we relive India’s 2011 World Cup journey
India versus Bangladesh, 19th February 2011
India took on Bangladesh in the opening match of the tournament played at Sher-e Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka on 19th February 2011. Thanks to Virender Sehwag 175 off 140 balls and Virat Kohli unbeaten century, India posted a massive total of 370 for 4 in 50 overs. Sehwag and Kohli added 203 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Defending the target of 371 runs, it was a good bowling effort by the Indian team as they restricted Bangladesh to 283 for 9 in 50 overs. Munaf Patel was the pick of bowlers with 4 wickets, Zaheer Khan 2, Harbhajan Singh and Yusuf Pathan 1 wicket each. India won the match by a massive 87 runs.
India versus England, 27th February 2011
India’s second match against England at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on 27th February 2011 was a high scoring tie. In that match, Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag provided a flying start adding 46 runs for opening wicket. Sachin played a brilliant knock scoring 120 off 115 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes.
Gambhir and Tendulkar added 134 runs for the 2nd wicket. Yuvraj Singh came to the crease, scored quick fire 58, MS Dhoni scored 31. Eventually, India was bowled out for 338 in 49.5 overs.
Defending the target of 339, the Indian team looked down and out when Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell put on 170 runs for the 3rd wicket. England got off to a great start as Kevin Pietersen and Strauss added 68 in 9.3 overs.
Zaheer Khan brought back India into the game with wickets. The match ended in a thrilling tie as England scored 338 for 8 in 50 overs. For India, Zaheer Khan took 3 for 64, Munaf Patel and Piyush Chawla took 2 wickets each.
India versus Ireland, 6th March 2011
India took on Ireland in their 3rd Group match played at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi on 6th March 2011. MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to field. It was a good bowling performance by the Indian bowlers as they bowled out Ireland for 207 in 47.5 overs. Yuvraj Singh was the pick of bowlers for India with figures of 5 for 31 in 10 overs, Zaheer Khan 3 for 30 and Munaf Patel 1 for 25.
Chasing a target of 208 runs to win, India lost 2 early wickets of Virender Sehwag and Gambhir. Sachin Tendulkar 38, Virat Kohli 34 steadied the innings. At 100 for 4, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni added 67 runs for the 5th wicket. Yuvraj remained not out on 50 to help India register a 5 wicket win with 24 balls to spare.
India versus Netherlands, 9th March 2011
The Indian Cricket team proved too strong for the Netherlands in their 4th match played at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. In this match, Netherlands captain Peter Borren won the toss and decided to bat first.
It was another good bowling performance by the Indian bowlers as they bowled out the Dutch for 189 in 46.4 overs. Zaheer Khan took 3 for 20, Piyush Chawla and Yuvraj Singh 2 wickets each, Ashish Nehra picking up a solitary wicket.
Chasing 190 Sehwag and Sachin got off to a flyer, adding 69 runs in 7.3 overs. Despite losing wickets, Yuvraj Singh played another match-winning knock remaining not out on 51 to help India register a 5 wicket win with 81 balls to spare.
India versus South Africa, 12th March 2011
India took on South Africa in their 5th league match played at VCA Stadium, Nagpur on 12th March 2011. MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. Indian openers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag provided a sensational start adding 142 runs in 17.4 overs.
Virender Sehwag was dismissed for 73. Gambhir and Sachin added 125 runs for the 2nd wicket. From 267 for 2, India was bowled out for 296 in 48.4 overs.
Defending the target of 297 runs to win, the Indian bowlers gave away runs especially the fast bowlers. Munaf Patel took 2 for 65, Nehra went for 65 without taking a wicket. Harbhajan Singh picked 3 for 53, Zaheer Khan 1 for 43. India lost the match by 3 wickets with 2 balls to spare.
India versus West Indies, 20th March 2011
In the final Group B match, India took on West Indies at M Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir went cheaply. Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh steadied the innings with 122 runs for the 3rd wicket.
Yuvraj Singh scored a fighting 113 off 123 balls. After MS Dhoni”s departure, the Indian team was bowled out for 268 in 49.1 overs.
Defending 269, the Indian bowlers kept the pressure on West Indies batsmen and bowled them out for 188 in 43 overs. Zaheer Khan took 3 for 26, R Ashwin 2 for 41, Yuvraj Singh 2 for 18, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh 1 wicket each. India won the match by 80 runs and finished 2nd in the points table.
Quarter Final
India versus Australia, 24th March 2011
India took on the defending Champions, Australia in the second quarterfinal at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad. Australian captain Ricky Pointing won the toss and decided to bat first. Thanks to Pointing 104, Haddin 53, David Hussey 38*, Australia posted 260 for 6 in 50 overs.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh took 2 wickets in India’s bowling effort. Chasin 261, Sachin Tendulkar”s and Gautam Gambhir”s half-centuries put Men in Blue on track.
India was struggling at 187 for 5 when Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina added an unbeaten 74 runs for the 6th wicket that took India home. Yuvraj scored another important knock of 57. India won the match by 5 wickets with 14 balls to spare.
Semi-Final
India versus Pakistan, 30th March 2011
India faced arch-rivals Pakistan in the second semi final played at PCA Stadium, Mohali. MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. Virender Sehwag played a cameo scoring 38 off 25 balls. Sachin Tendulkar scored 85 off 115 balls. In his stay of 85, he was dropped 4 times and once the decision was overturned.
Suresh Raina scored an important 36 not out to give the finishing touches. Wahab Riaz bowled a dream spell of 5 for 46 in 10 overs which restricted India to 260 for 9 in 50 overs.
Defending 261, the Indian bowlers stood up to the occasion and ended Pakistan”s WC campaign. India bowled out Pakistan for 231 in 49.5 overs. Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh took 2 wickets each.
With this win, India qualified for the mega finals against Sri Lanka.
Final
India versus Sri Lanka, 2nd April
India took on Sri Lanka in the final of ICC Cricket World Cup, 2011 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss (after the second time coin was flipped) and decided to bat first. A brilliant 103 not out by Mahela Jayawardene, along with useful knocks by Kumar Sangakkara 48, TM Dilshan 33 and quick fire knocks by Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera helped visitors to post a challenging 274 for 6 in 50 overs. For India, Zaheer Khan took 2 for 60, Yuvraj Singh 2 for 49 and Harbhajan Singh 1 for 50.
Chasing 275, India got off to a poor start as they lost 2 early wickets of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Gambhir and Virat Kohli steadied the Indian innings adding 83 runs for the 3rd wicket. After the dismissal of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni promoted himself up the order and added 109 runs for the 4th wicket with Gambhir. Gambhir was dismissed eventually for 97.
MS Dhoni played a captain knock and remained not out on 91. He and Yuvraj Singh added unbeaten 54 runs for the 5th wicket. Indian captain Dhoni hit the winning six to help India register 6 wicket win with 10 balls to spare.
The Indian Cricket team won the World Cup after a gap of 28 years. Yuvraj Singh proved too be a match winner with both bat and ball. He took 15 wickets and scored 362 runs in the tournament. He was awarded the man of the tournament for the same.