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Muralitharan decodes Dhoni's call to bat above Yuvraj in 2011 World Cup final: 'He didn't want to…'
Muralitharan was asked to share his thoughts on the 2011 finals, when India met Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The schedule and venues for the upcoming edition of ICC men's World Cup, which will be played in October and November in India, was announced by ICC on Tuesday. The tournament gets underway with previous edition's finalists England and New Zealand locking horns in the tournament opener, which will be played on October 5 at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India will get their campaign underway against Australia three days later in Chennai and will then play Afghanistan in Delhi before meeting arch rivals Pakistan on October 15 in Ahmedabad.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag, Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan along with BCCI secretary Jay Shah, and ICC CEO Geoff Allardice were present at Mumbai's St Regis hotel for the event, where the World Cup fixtures were announced.
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During that event Muralitharan was asked to share his thoughts on the 2011 finals, when India met Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He was asked about then India skipper MS Dhoni, who had promoted himself in the line-up and came to bat ahead of in-form Yuvraj Singh.
Muralitharan said he was not surprised with the move, claiming Yuvraj was not very comfortable against him and India didn't want to lose any further wickets at that juncture of the match. India were three down for 114 in 275-run chase when Dhoni walked out to bat a move which left many stunned.
The legendary spinner added Dhoni was more confident against him, having spent significant time in nets playing his balls during Muralitharan's stint with the Chennai Super Kings in Indian Premier League.
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"I knew because Yuvraj (Singh) was not very comfortable to play me, although he was the best player in World Cup at that time, middle-order number four position. I knew because I was bowling a lot against him (Dhoni) in the nets in Chennai while playing in the IPL. So Dhoni knew how to play me very well. So I thought he didn't want to give any wickets to me, because I was wicketless despite bowling well," said Muralitharan during the event.
"There was a lot of dew at that time and we couldn't spin the ball much. Gambhir was there at the other end, so when we got the wicket definitely I knew he will come, because he knows how to play me very well as I've played for Chennai (Super Kings)."
Muralitharan bowled eight overs in the final and conceded 39 runs at an economy of just below 5 runs per over. Dhoni, on the other hand, played a match-winning knock of 91 not out off 79 balls, which featured eight 4s and two 6s, which was also India's last triumph in the World Cup.
