The team managed to see motes of lights in darkness; resilience and belief have been the key words
It was a night when battle hardened cricketers wept. The tears of joy were well worth the wait. Making history is never easy.
The jubilant scenes witnessed after India's emotion-driven World Cup triumph were unprecedented. A nation of 1.2 billion people rejoiced.
It was not surprising that the Indian celebrations in the field of dreams revolved around the inspirational Sachin Tendulkar. Coach Gary Kirsten too was the toast as the players sang and danced.
Someone who stays in the background, Kirsten had delivered with his player-friendly methods. Without being soft, he had managed to motivate the side. His reign had been a largely victorious one.
This had been a campaign where India found its feet gradually and peaked at the right time.
The side possessed resilience and depth, was predatory on the field. India also displayed fine end-game skills — a critical element of success. .
This Indian team has managed to see motes of lights in darkness, scripted stirring comebacks. Resilience and belief have been the key words.
It can be extremely demanding to wear the tag of favourite and shoulder the burden of expectations right through a tournament of this magnitude. India did not wilt under pressure as it became the first side to win the premier ODI competition on its own soil.
A strong captain
It suited India to have Dhoni at the helm. He is a strong captain, has the ability to bring the team together in the manner of a leader. .
His decisions may not always be popular but he is clear in his mind. With Dhoni, there are no half measures. There is a calmness about him in trying circumstances that soothes the nerves of his men. Yet, the aggression in his body language is unmistakable.
Dhoni's counter-attack in the summit clash stunned Sri Lanka. Promoting himself in the order to partner the left-handed Gautam Gambhir made cricketing sense, yet — given Yuvraj Singh's form, the move represented a gamble.
His explosive stroke-play powered India home in the final stretch. His bat-speed and powerful wrists came to the fore as he dismantled the Sri Lankan attack.
Confidence is a precious commodity and the Indian captain has this in plenty.
And Gambhir's sound technique and rapier-like strokes complemented Dhoni's power hitting. The left-hander made the right moves.
The value of Virat Kohli's determined innings and his partnership with Gambhir after Sri Lanka had made early inroads has to be acknowledged. This was the association that put India back on course.
Of course, Yuvraj was around with Dhoni when India whittled down the target and finally romped home.
Grown in stature
Yuvraj has grown in stature. He has added steel to his natural ability and is comprehending situations better.
The heroic southpaw has taken immense responsibility on himself, guided the side on the chase with a blend of solidity and flair.
His numbers are impressive but Yuvraj's spirit travels beyond figures. He has taken flight at decisive moments with the willow, bowled his left-arm spin with the sort of control not associated with part-time bowlers and lifted his levels of fielding. He played with heart and passion.
And left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan dazzled with the ball. He went for runs at the death in the final but his crafty bowling was outstanding. His commitment gleamed like head-lights on an unlit highway.
Saturday's final marked the end of Muttiah Muralitharan's memorable international journey. Struggling with niggles he failed to impart his normal rip on the ball during the final.
The mercurial Lasith Malinga breathed fire at the start but Sri Lanka was let down by lack of quality in pace support for its spearhead. And the islanders missed variety in its spin combination. The classical Mahela Jayawardene's gem went unrewarded.
Gambir must have been named 'man of the match' for his tremendous contribution to Indian team's success. Or at least, Gambir and Dhoni must have share the coveted prize.
Absolutely brilliant for India and it's people. I hope this gives greater impetus to all sports in India, the govt needs to invest more in un-earthing sporting talent and propels India into a sporting superpower.
the 3rd world cup is waiting down under for india! 2011 WC proved the mental strength of the Indian cricketers. It's only the third team who won the cup by chasing.and remember it is the biggest successful run chase in a World Cup final.
Of course! Great Victory to the Indian team and all its supporters! A lesson to be learnt by the leaders of all kinds of Sports that are yet to make a mark in their attempt to glory! What a grand display of team spirit, where each of the team members shoulders responsibility and makes contribution even at difficult times! What an occasion to feel proud to be an Indian! All the very best to the Indian Team for even more triumphs in its path in future!
It was a Memorable day for not only M.S.Dhoni 's team and the Indians on2.April for the Mag nificient victory on the World cup,Gautam Gambir's brilliant knock and Dhoni's captain's innings wasthe main attributing factors.Indian team proved their metal ,against Srilankans and won the World cup second time after 28 years should be applauded. If the World cup would have given by the former Captain Kaoil Dev that would have added the victory.Kudos toIndian team.
K.Ragavan.
After the World Cup victory euphoria has subsided we should ponder over these facts. 1) India excels in a sport played among only 14 countries, 2)has not qualified for football world cup since 1986, 3) maintains an abysmal record in hockey, the national sports and 4) has won a TOTAL of 20 medals in 25 olympic games held so far. A country of 1.2 billion people with 30% population under the age of 25 has one of the worst record at sports other than cricket. Cricket enjoys the patronage of media, government and industrial powerhouses. What prevents these from attending to other sports or at least to the national sports is beyond me!
The victory was well deserved for India as we had to face some of the toughest and in-form opponents in Quater-final, Semi-final and the Finals. Australians are a thorough team, Pakistan is tough particularly when the opponent is India and last but not the least a High Class Sri Lankan team in the Finals. Three kudos to Jayawardane for his splendid century and the fire brand bowling by Malinga. It was the overall excellent team performance by India which gave the well deserved WORLD CUP. Gambir and Dhoni were really superb. And what a six one can ask for the winning runs!!!!!!!!!!. Great. Proud to be an Indian.
I wished India would score above 320 on an avarage. This was fair expectation looking at bating strength.Complacence of the team whenever Tendululkar & Ssehwag batted was unimaginable. This demoralised Tendulkar ofen as his both tons went in vain. India stayed unfazed in crunch but otherwise played modicore. Finaly they succeeded but with avarage score of 65%. To retain the summit they have to perform regularly at around 80% of their capacity.
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