Hyderabad: Eight years ago, on this day, India notched history by lifting their second World Cup title after 28 years at Wankhede Stadium. Gautam Gambhir's fighting 97 and MS Dhoni's destructive 91 helped India to script a new chapter in Indian cricket history.
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In the second ball of the 49th over Dhoni went for a big shot off Nuwan Kulasekara which saw everyone erupted in joy as Team India added its second World Cup title to their trophy cabinet.
The incumbent coach of India Ravi Shastri, who was on the mic when captain Dhoni smashed Nuwan Kulasekara over the long on boundary for a six, came up with the vivid description of the atmosphere at the Wankhede stadium.
"Dhoni finishes off in style, it’s a magnificent strike into the crowd, India lifts the world cup after 28 years. The party has started in the dressing room. And it’s an Indian captain, who has been absolutely magnificent on the night of the finals."
For Indians, Shastri's lines are pure gold and it still gives them goosebumps.
But, dressing room secret is one thing that most of the people are not aware of. India got off to a nightmarish start to their 275 runs chase as they lost openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin early in their innings.
When Gambhir was slowly but steadily taking India's chase in the right direction, both Tendulkar and Sehwag were at the dressing room.
What could you expect from them at that moment? Biting their nails or a tensed Tendulkar walking around the dressing room or a Sehwag locked himself inside the bathroom?
They did none of them.
A superstitious Sachin Tendulkar said that he didn't watch any part of the 2011 World Cup final and he didn't allowed his opening partner, Virender Sehwag, to watch either.
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“In an earlier game in Ahmedabad, I had been getting a massage with my head down and Viru was sitting next to me and we did well. So in the final, I stayed on the massage table and kept Viru with me. He said, ‘Let me see the game a little bit’. I said, ‘No, you see as much as you want on TV later’. And we won,” said Tendulkar.
