On this day 10 years ago, Team India lifted the ICC World Cup after 28 years under the leadership of MS Dhoni. It was Dhoni’s unbeaten 91 and Gautam Gambhir’s 97 that helped the Men in Blue beat Sri Lanka in the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. On the occasion of the 10th birth anniversary, Gambhir has pointed out the worst things that the Men in Blues went through after the World Cup triumph.
Mahela Jayawardene’s century propelled Sri Lanka to a decent total in the high-voltage match. India dealt with a massive jolt early on in the run chase with both openers – Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag back in the hut. But Gambhir and Dhoni shared a match-winning partnership to complete the heist as India became the first team to win the World Cup at home.
The same team never played again after 2011 World Cup – Gautam Gambhir
Meanwhile, going down memory lane, Gautam Gambhir was surprised by the fact that the same eleven never played a game together after the triumph back in 2011. The cricketer-turned-politician also said that the then coach, captain, and the selectors will be the best person to answer why the same team never played again after the World Cup.
“I know that’s probably the worst thing. Bhajji once told me that. Probably the better person to ask the question is the erstwhile coach (Duncan Fletcher who took over immediately after Gary Kirsten’s departure at the end of the World Cup), the captain (MS Dhoni), and the selectors (K Srikkanth and Co,” Gambhir was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times.
“I don’t think this has happened in international ODI cricket history that a team that won a World Cup never played a single match together again,” he added.
After the emphatic victory, MS Dhoni resorted to the rotation policy because of which the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virender Sehwag played together seldom. Gambhir, earlier, went on to call Dhoni’s policy ‘Complete Crap’.
Gambhir amassed 393 runs at an average of 43.66 with four half-centuries in nine matches and was one of the key performers for India throughout the mega event.
