Hyderabad: Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni said the best feeling was 15-20 minutes before the winning moment, in his throwback of the 2011 India’s ICC World Cup win. The Captain Cool was attending a special event in Chennai on Sunday, when he made this revelation of his emotional high.
He was interacting with host Sanjana Ganesan, and former Australia batter Mike Hussey, ICC Cricket reported. Dhoni said his best feeling was 15-20 minutes before the winning moment, when they didn't need a lot of runs with a well-placed partnership. Dhoni recalled how the entire stadium was singing Vande Mataram and he felt that atmosphere will be very difficult to recreate.
He also said that it might be possible in the upcoming 2023 World Cup. Reiterating the difficulty in replicating it, Dhoni said the stadium and the fans can make it happen. Accordign to the Indian Skipper, it would be possible replicate the 2011 atmosphere only if say 40, 50 or 60,000 fans sing together.
Dhoni said he was not high at winning moment but 15- 20 minutes before that. He said he wanted to get it done with. He added that the team knew that they will win it and difficult to lose from there. He said it gave him "a sense of satisfaction, job done, let’s move on from here."
Dhoni gave lessons on how he went down in the path of winning the 2011 World Cup, stating that he always firmly believed in keeping it simple. He said it is essential to peel your eyes on the target. After you achieve it, one can enjoy it to the fullest, Dhoni said. Pressure will mount, according to Dhoni, the moment one starts thinking a lot about why he/she wants to win it. That will put your thoughts into the result and it would lead to undue pressure, he added.
It is pertinent to note it was the last world cup the God of Cricket and Sachin Tendulkar could finally lift the elusive World Cup trophy in his career spanning two decades. Dhoni also said he was skeptic at times wondering if Tendulkar would ever claim that elusive trophy. He said thoughts of God having given everything to Tendulkar would cross his mind. He wondered whether the God would keep this trophy away from him.
He said everybody in the team knew that it was going to be Tendulkar's last World Cup campaign and the entire team felt that they will have to win the tournament for Tendulkar. Dhoni said the team decided try their and give their 100% in the game and willing to accept the results. Dhoni said he was happy to be on the winning side and the contributions from the full team and the support staff were huge.
On Sunday, Dhoni was gifted digital collectibles, marking 12 years of the historic win. ICC Head of Digital Finn Bradshaw and Anshum Bhambri, founder of FanCraze, handed over the digital collectibles to Dhoni for both his iconic six as well as his unbeaten match-winning 91 (not out), ICC Cricket reported.
