Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
'It wasn't the winning moment. It was 15-20 minutes ago when...': MS Dhoni reveals 'best feeling' from 2011 WC win
On the 12th anniversary, Dhoni, recalled that evening in Mumbai and revealed his "best feeling" and guess what, it wasn't the winning moment.
It has been 12 years of India's historic ICC ODI World Cup win. In front of a packed Wankhede crowd in that spring of 2011, MS Dhoni sent millions into frenzy with that towering match-winning six over long on as India beat Asian rivals Sri Lanka to claim their first World Cup trophy in 28 years and second overall after the 1983 feat. On the 12th anniversary, Dhoni, the last Indian captain to lead the team to a World Cup glory, fondly recalled that evening in Mumbai and revealed his "best feeling" and guess what, it wasn't the winning moment.
On the 12th year of the 2011 World Cup win, Dhoni, in a special event in Chennai on Sunday, was awarded digital collectibles for both his match-winning six as well as his unbeaten knock of 91, by ICC Head of Digital Finn Bradshaw and Anshum Bhambri, Founder of FanCraze.
Dhoni, later, in conversation with host Sanjana Ganesan, and former Australia batter Mike Hussey, revealed the moment that got him emotional and it was neither that six or the moment he lifted the World Cup. The legendary gloveman instead recalled the moment, 15-20 minutes before India wrppaed up the chase, when the packed Wankhede crowd started to sing Vande Mataram. Dhoni revealed that it was at that moment he knew, the win was happening.
"The best feeling was 15-20 minutes (before the winning moment),” said Dhoni. “We didn’t need a lot of runs, the partnership was well-placed, there was a lot of dew.
“And the stadium started to sing Vande Mataram. That atmosphere I feel is very difficult to recreate – maybe in this [upcoming 2023] World Cup, there is a similar scenario, once the stadium, the fans start contributing.
“You know, it’s a very difficult (atmosphere) one 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.
“To me, it was not the winning moment, it was 15-20 minutes ago when emotionally I was very high. And at the same time, I wanted to get done with it. We knew that we will win this from here, and it was very difficult for us to lose.
“So yes, you know it was more of a sense of satisfaction, job done, let’s move on from here."
