On the 12th anniversary of India winning the 2011 ODI cricket World Cup trophy in Mumbai, former team captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, revealed his feelings about the electrifying atmosphere at the stadium and his “best feeling.” In an interview with Sanjana Ganesan and former Australian batter Mike Hussey, Dhoni, known as the usually unflappable ‘Captain Cool,’ shared that he became emotional as India was on the brink of sealing the chase. “The best feeling was 15-20 minutes (before the winning moment),” he said.
Dhoni described how the fans started singing “Vande Mataram” when India didn’t need a lot of runs, and the partnership was well-placed, and there was a lot of dew. “That atmosphere, I feel, is very difficult to recreate – maybe in this World Cup [upcoming 2023], there will be a similar scenario – once the stadium, the fans start contributing.” He added, “It is a very difficult one (atmosphere) to replicate. But it can only be replicated if the occasion is similar to that (in 2011) and there are like 40, 50 or 60,000 people who are singing.”
Dhoni revealed that his emotional charge lasted for 15-20 minutes before the win, and he wanted to get done with it. “We knew that we would win this from here, and it was very difficult for us to lose. So yes, it was more of a sense of satisfaction; the job is done, let us move on from here.”
The day in 2011 also belonged to Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who finally got his hands on a trophy he had been chasing for over two decades. Dhoni revealed there were times when he wondered if Tendulkar would claim that elusive prize. “We said we will try our best, we will make sure that we are giving 100 percent when it comes to the cricket matches, and we will accept the results.”
India defeated Sri Lanka in the final by six wickets in the summit clash at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After batting first, Sri Lanka posted 274/6 in their 50 overs. An unbeaten century from Mahela Jayawardene (103*) and knocks from skipper Kumar Sangakkara (48), Nuwan Kulasekara (32), and Thisara Perera (22*) powered Lanka to a competitive total. Chasing 275, India lost Sehwag (0) and Tendulkar (18) early. But an 83-run stand between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli (35) revived India’s chances. Gambhir went on to score 97 in 122 balls and had a 109-run stand for the fourth wicket with skipper MS Dhoni, who ended at an unbeaten 91* off 79 balls.
Dhoni and Yuvraj (21*) had an unbeaten 54-run stand for the fifth wicket that guided Team India to their first World Cup title in 28 years. The Indian cricket team is set to host the Cricket World Cup 2023 in its entirety, for the first time ever, and the ICC has unveiled the tournament logo. The Cricket World Cup has been developed with the ‘Navarasa’, nine emotions the game’s audiences experience during the high-stakes action.
A term in Indian theatre, the ‘Navarasa’ has been reimagined in a cricketing context, using symbols and colour to depict the emotions fans feel while living the drama and excitement of a World Cup match: joy, power, anguish, respect, pride, bravery, glory, wonder and passion, feelings which represent the reactions that a Cricket World Cup evokes.
No doubt about to experience a wave of different feelings in the build-up to the tournament, India captain Rohit Sharma says his side will channel the excitement and expectation as the prepare for their home stand.
“With six months to go until the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, the excitement is really starting to build. Playing a World Cup on home soil is every player’s dream, even more so as captain and I can’t wait for it to start. The Men’s Cricket World Cup is a very special event for everyone involved in cricket and we will be doing everything over the next few months to prepare as best we can to give us the greatest chance to lift the trophy,” Sharma said as quoted by ICC.
