INDIA ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS
Reclaim title after 28 years

Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a captain's knock and gutsy Gautam Gambhir steered the innings after early jolts to hand India their second World Cup title after 1983, beating Sri Lanka by six wickets at the overflowing Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai April 2.

Chasing 275, Dhoni (91 not out) and Gambhir (97) shared 109 runs for the fourth wicket after India made a wobbly start, losing Virender Sehwag in the first over followed by Sachin Tendulkar in the seventh. Both the wickets were taken by fiery Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga.

India completed the chase in 48.2 overs with Dhoni smashing a six off Nuwan Kulasekara, sparking wild celebration in the stadium.

Pre-tournament favourites India spectacularly broke the jinx of a host nation not winning the World Cup, by clinching the sport's most treasured prize. When Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men crossed the finish line after overhauling Sri Lanka, it was the firstever time in the tournament's history that the nation hosting the grand finale had come out trumps.

England had hosted the tournament on four occasions (1975-1983 and 1999) without tasting success even once. India was the co-hosts of the 1987 edition along with Pakistan, and Allan Border's Australians beat Mike Gatting's England at the Eden Gardens to snatch away the top prize.

Five years later, Australia hosted the final (the tournament's joint co-hosts being New Zealand), and it was the turn of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan to lift the trophy. In 1996 though winners Lanka were the co-hosts of the tournament with India and Pakistan, but the final was held at Lahore.

After the 1999 tournament, won by Australia in England, Ricky Ponting led the Aussies to back-to-back title triumphs in 2003 (in South Africa) and in 2007 (in West Indies).

But on April 2, 2011, egged on by a capacity crowd of 33,000, India created history as hosts of the summit clash by denying cohosts Lanka the Cup as well as the top prize of USD 3 million. Runners-up Sri Lanka pocketed USD 1.5 million. The triumph also placed India alongside the West Indies and Australia as the teams to have won the much-admired title on more than one occasion.

Cricket's economic superpowers are now the number one team in the two major formats of the game --Test and ODIs. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (91 not out) reserved his best for the occasion and played a truly captain's knock and the entire team swarmed the field to mob him as he dispatched Nuwan Kulasekara for a six to complete the gritty chase.

Even Sachin Tendulkar could not control his emotions as ran in to join the celebrations out the middle. The Indian players had tears of joy as the Sri Lankans stood in disbelief, not knowing what had hit them.

It was the second consecutive loss for Sri Lanka in the final, having beaten by Australia in the Caribbeans four years back.
Tendulkar said this was the proudest moment for him. He did not forget to thank the support staff for their wonderful work. The team carried Tendulkar on their shoul- 40 NRI TODAY APRIL 2011 ders for a victory lap around the stadium. India erupted in joyous celebrations, fireworks lit up the night sky and people broke into impromptu street dance after Dhoni hit a marvellous six to clinch India's biggest cricketing win.

India, which had come to a virtual standstill on April 2 Saturday, burst into a carnival to celebrate the victory. Packed pubs, restaurants and multiplexes across the country, where giant screens were put up, broke decibel records as the crowds cheered and shouted loudly.

Firecrackers were burst in cities across India, and people in hundreds of thousands trooped out on the streets, hugged total strangers and distributed sweets to celebrate the return of the coveted cup. The capacity crowd of 33,000 at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai cheered wildly and waved the Indian tricolour at the win and broke into rapturous applause when Dhoni received the glittering gold and silver World Cup trophy.

From small towns, to villages to big metros, Team India's win overwhelmed everyone.
Young men and women rode motorbikes and cars in cities and honked car horns to celebrate. Thousands gathered at city centres and near major landmarks, like India Gate in Delhi, kick-starting a party which will probably go on for days.

In a cricket crazy country, it doesn't get bigger than winning the World Cup. Thousands of youth, who were not even born when India last won the World Cup in 1983 celebrated like there is no tomorrow.
In Kolkata, youths straddling speeding motorbikes screamed "Chak De! India", wildly waved the national flag.
The country heaved a collective sigh of joyous relief as it became clear that the Cup is here to stay for the next four years. Hundreds of millions stayed glued to their TVs, transistor sets and mobile phones, from 2.30 p.m. as the match began, cheering every run, every boundary and every slip by the Sri Lankans.

As the Indian team's fortunes swung wildly at moments, like during just-missed run outs, missed catches and close LBWs overturned, people turned to superstition and prayers. In Chandigarh, people danced to the beats of dhol and Bollywood numbers. In Hyderabad, the euphoria was similar, with people dancing with gay abandon.

It was the proudest moment of my life

An emotional Sachin Tendulkar admitted that April 2 was the "proudest day of my life" after India beat Sri Lanka to win the cricket World Cup. "Couldn't have asked for more. This is ultimate. It is the proudest moment of my life," said Tendulkar in an emotionally choked voice. "I thank the team for putting up a fabulous performance and playing consistent cricket," the maestro added.
Tendulkar who did a lap of honor on shoulder of his teammates said that there was tears in his eyes once Dhoni hit that six. "Yes, they were happy tears. So I don't mind. We have stuck together through ups and down," stated the smiling legend.
Tendulkar who missed out on his 100th international ton lavished praise on the support staff especially adventure expert and motivational expert Mike Horn who joined the team a few days back.
"I wanted to thank Mike Horn. The sessions with him were of immense help. Also I want to thank Gary Kirsten and Paddy Upton. They have to be given the credit as they instilled a bit more self belief in us. We have been very consistent during the last two years and this is a result of that," Tendulkar said.

Yuvraj Player of the Tournament; Dhoni Man of the Match of World Cup final

Yuvraj Singh, who performed brilliantly with the bat and ball, was adjudged the 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament while Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named Man of the Match of the final against Sri Lanka. Dhoni scored an unbeaten 91 runs and shared a 91-run partnership with Gautam Gambhir (97).

Yuvraj was the unanimous choice of a select group of experts following his sensational form that helped guide his side to the title. The 29-year-old scored a total of 362 runs at an average of 86.19 in eight innings. Along the way, he also won four Man of the Match awards.

He also took 15 wickets at an average of 25.13 and an economy-rate of 5.02 with his more-than-useful slow left-arm bowling. “It means the world to me. I have been part of the three World Cups. This is for the nation. Thank you very much, we love you. This cup is for the people,” said Yuvraj.

Sri Lanka’s inspirational captain Kumar Sangakkara, joint-top wickettakers Shahid Afridi of Pakistan and Zaheer Khan of India, as well as leading run-scorer Tillakaratne M. Dilshan and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, and AB de Villiers of South Africa were in also in contention for the award.“But the panel decided Yuvraj’s crucial contributions to his team’s victories with both bat and ball were deserving of the player-of-the-tournament award,” ICC said in a statement.
During India’s World Cup title victory at Lord’s 28 years ago, Mohinder Amarnath won the Man of the Match in the final against West Indies. He scored a crucial 26 in the low-scoring match and then took 3-12.

Road to World Cup Final

Here’s how India and Sri Lanka set themselves up for the summit World Cup clash at the Wankhede Stadium:
INDIA India vs Bangladesh, Dhaka: Virender Sehwag hit the first ball of the World Cup off Rubel Hossain for four, and the match went only one way after that. Sehwag scored 175 and Virat Kohli an unbeaten 100 as India reached 370 for four. Bangladesh could only manage 283 in reply.

India vs England, Bangalore: The match of the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar scored a sublime 120, but India lost their way after looking set for scoring a total in excess of 350 to post a still-monumental 338. England captain Andrew Strauss ruined the host’s party with an innings that outdid Tendulkar’s, and the match was tied amid much drama. India vs Ireland, Bangalore: The match was supposed to be a cakewalk for India, but proved marginally tougher as Yuvraj Singh won his first of four man-of-the-match awards with an unbeaten 50 as the hosts chased down 207 for the loss of five wickets against a spirited Ireland team.

India vs Netherlands, Delhi: Zaheer Khan claimed three wickets as India shot the Netherlands out for 189 and had a bit of a fright when they lost four wickets for 30 runs against some disciplined bowling. But it was Yuvraj again who saved the day with an unbeaten 51 that took India home with more than 13 overs to spare.

India vs South Africa, Nagpur: India’s only loss of the tournament came against the wellbalanced Proteas, who shot them out for 296 after a Tendulkar-Sehwag opening burst of 142 runs raised expectations of a total in excess of 350. Tendulkar scored his second hundred, but India lost their last nine wickets for 29 runs, and the South Africans rode on contributions from Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and J.P. Duminy to get home with two balls and three wickets to spare. India vs West Indies, Chennai: Yuvraj Singh scored an elegant 113 to take a stuttering Indian batting effort to 268 all out, before he combined with Zaheer Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin to skittle West Indies out for 188.

India vs Australia, quarterfinal at Ahmedabad: In the match between the favourites and the defending champions, Australia batted first and posted a challenging 260 with a determined century from captain Ricky Ponting. Crucial contributions from Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina guided a tense run chase to its completion as India won by five wickets with 14 balls to spare.

India vs Pakistan, semifinal at Mohali: It was dubbed as the mother of all matches, but it fizzled out into a fairly comprehensive 29- run victory for India. Sachin Tendulkar played one of his patchy and uncharacterstic innings, giving too many chaces, but managed to score 85 courtesy of four dropped catches, as India posted 260. In the face of some disciplined bowling and regular wickets after a promising opening stand, Pakistan lost their way after having promised much in the tournament.

SRI LANKA Sri Lanka vs Canada, Hambantota: A cakewalk if ever there was one. With a blazing half-century from captain Kumar Sangakkara and an equally electric century from Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lanka posted 332 for seven. Canada could manage only 122 all out as Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera grabbed three wickets apiece. Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, Colombo: A great match, and Sri Lanka’s only loss till date in the tournament against a highly impressive Pakistan side. On the back of sparkling halfcenturies from Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq, Pakistan scored 277. All the batsmen, except Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera got amongst the runs for Sri Lanka, but in the face of Shahid Afridi’s fast spinners that earned him four wickets, Sri Lanka finished 11 short.

Sri Lanka vs Kenya, Colombo: Another minnow, another cakewalk. Lasith Malinga took six wickets, including a hattrick as Kenya were skittled out for 142. Sri Lanka barely broke a sweat as they breezed to the total for the loss of one wicket and with more than 31 overs to spare.

Sri Lanka vs Australia, Colombo: Had the potential to be a classic, but rain played spoilsport as their was only 32 overs and five balls were bowled with Australia reaching 146 for three before the game was called off.

Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, Pallekele: Openers Tilakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga shared a mammoth stand of 282 in less than 45 overs as Sri Lanka piled on 327 runs against an outclassed Zimbabwe. Dilshan was not finished, however, as he took four wickets with his off-spin to speed Zimbabwe’s demise to 188 all out.

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, Mumbai: New Zealand performed no better than a minnow with the bat as they were thumped by 112 runs. Sangakkara and Jayawardene were again to the fore, with the former stroking a century and the latter a fifty as Sri Lanka posted a competitive 165. On the field, when Muttiah Muralidharan started taking wickets — he finished with four for 25 — there was only one way the match was going. Sri Lanka vs England, quarterfinal at Colombo: A match that promised much turned out to be the most one-sided of all. England were bogged down by Sri Lankan spin, riding on the watchful efforts of Jonathan Trott and the carefree bravado of Eoin Morgan to reach an adequate 229 for six. Or so they thought; Tharanga and Dilshan hit twin tons and remained unbeaten to deliver victory by ten wickets.

WORLD CUP HIGHLIGHTS 42 NRI TODAY APRIL 2011

* India have posted wins in all five ODIs against Pakistan at the World Cup, maintaining 100 per cent record.
* Sachin Tendulkar (85 off 115 balls) recorded his 38th fifty in India - his 95th fifty in ODIs. Tendulkar (6,958) requires 42 runs to become the first batsman to aggregate 7,000 runs at home.
* Tendulkar is the first Indian batsman to total 400 runs in the 2011 World Cup, aggregating 464 at an average of 58.00. His tally is second only to the 467 of Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan (66.71) in eight games.
* Tendulkar is also the top run-scorer in India-Pakistan ODIs, making 2,474 at an average of 39.90 in 68 matches, bettering Inzamam-ul-Haq’s 2,403 (ave.43.69) in 67 matches.
* The batting legend has not now got eight MOM awards against Pakistan. At Mohali, he was adjudged the MOM for the ninth time at the World Cup - his third against Pakistan. Overall, he has got 62 MOM awards, extending his record in ODIs.
* Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar put on 68 for the second wicket - India’s highest against Pakistan at the World Cup.
* Zaheer Khan, with 19 wickets at 17.57, set an Indian bowling record for most wickets in a single edition of the World Cup.
* Yuvraj Singh registered his second golden duck in ODIs. His first golden duck was against Kenya at Port Elizabeth on October 17, 2001. The left-handers’s second duck at the World Cup is his 14th in ODIs.
* Virender Sehwag enjoys an excellent batting record in the 2011 World Cup, aggregating 380 runs at an average of 54.28 in seven matches. He produced his career-best performance in a series, obliterating the 348 in five matches at an average of 69.60 in the 2008 Asia Cup.
* Sehwag (38 off 25 balls) registered his top innings against Pakistan at the World Cup, eclipsing the 21 at Centurion on March 1, 2003.
* Sehwag (1,036 at 35.72) is also the sixth and Mahendra Singh Dhoni the seventh Indian to complete 1,000 runs or more against Pakistan. Sachin Tendulkar (2,474), Rahul Dravid (1,899), Mohammad Azharuddin (1,657), Sourav Ganguly (1,652), Yuvraj Singh (1,251), and Dhoni (1,001) are the others to register the feat.
* Suresh Raina (36 not out off 39 balls) posted his highest World Cup score.
* Wahab Riaz (5-46) recorded his careerbest bowling performance in ODIs - his first five-wicket haul. His excellent figures are best for Pakistan against India at the World Cup, eclipsing the 3-59 by Mushtaq Ahmed at Sydney on March 4, 1992.
* Riaz is the second bowler to take five wickets in India-Pakistan games at the World Cup, the first being Venkatesh Prasad - 5-27 at Manchester on June 8, 1999.
* The left-arm pacer is the fifth Pakistani bowler to capture five wickets in an innings at the World Cup. He has joined Shahid Afridi (twice in 2011), Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Qadir.
* Riaz (5-46) is the first Pakistani bowler to take five wickets in an innings at Mohali. South Africa’s Makhaya Ntini (5-21 against Pakistan on October 27, 2006) and Riaz are the only two bowlers to take five wickets in ODIs at Mohali.
* Umar Gul (8.62) has recorded the worst economy rate by a Pakistani bowler against India at the World Cup.
* Kamran Akmal is the third wicketkeeper to effect four stumpings in the 2011 World Cup, joining Kumar Sangakkara and Mushfiqur Rahim.
* Misbah-ul-Haq completed his 2,000 runs in ODIs - 2,005 at an average of 40.91 in 71 matches.
* Not a single Pakistani batsman has made 250 in the 2011 World Cup, the highest being Misbah-ul-Haq’s tally of 248 (ave.49.60) in eight games.

[ BY ANU SHARMA ]