India win Cricket World Cup 2011 – after 28 years

A  glorious new chapter has been scripted in cricketing history when India lifted the World Cup 2011 today.  All the team members wanted to dedicate the cup to Sachin Tendulkar.

SriLanka opted to bat first after winning the toss.  The highlight of the SriLanka innings was a brilliant 103 not out by Mahela Jayawardene.  SriLanka put up a total of 274/6.  The match was nerve-wrecking with many exciting moments.

A brilliant and gusty 97 from Gautam Gambhir, Kohli’s 35 and a captains innings from MS Dhoni (91 not out)were the highlight of the Indian innings after the openers Sehwag and Tendulkar were out to Malingas bowling.  Victory was sealed  by 6 wickets with 10 balls to spare.  Dhoni who had promoted himself up the order hit 2 consecutive boundaries off the bowling of Lasith Malinga when 15 runs were needed from 17 deliveries.

The tense crowd at the Wankhede stadium erupted in wild celebrations as Dhoni hit the winning six runs of Kulasekaras bowling  to give India their biggest cricketing moment.

This victory will long be remembered as it is after 28 long years that India has been able to achieve this feat!   The team mates lifted Sachin  as celebrations began.  It was also a fitting farewell to coach Gary Kirsten.

(Picture courtesy: NDTV, Zeenews)

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India vs Pakistan – The final before the final

In yesterdays quarter-final, India ended Australia’s 12-year reign as world champions with a five-wicket win in Ahmedabad. Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Gambhir and Sachin chipped in with nice contributions and it was a team-effort. In the other quarter-final, Pakistan vanquished the Windies.

Now, the stage is all set for what is being termed as ‘the final before the final’ as Team India sets up a clash with perennial rivals Pakistan in the semi-final of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2011. India, and their neighbours, Pakistan, battle against each other on March 30 in Mohali.

Tickets for the near-28,000 capacity stadium were sold out in a record day-and-a-half, with PCA officials claiming that 16,500 tickets were sold and the remainder were sold to ICC, who in turn would be issuing tickets to its guests and officials.

India and Pakistan have played each other four times in past world cups and each time India has emerged victorious against their fiercest rivals. Proceedings in the matches themselves have been nothing short of hugely entertaining and even now images of the clash in 1996 when Pakistani opener Aamir Sohail carted two successive boundaries off Venkatesh Prasad, showing him the bat and then Prasad clean bowling him off the very next delivery still come to mind.

‘India v Pakistan in semi-finals – it doesn’t get better. A World Cup hosted by the sub-continental nations and India and Pakistan making it to the semis,’ said India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

‘There will be more pressure on the Indian side and it will be from outside. People will say ‘win the semis, we don’t care about the final’.

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said it will be ‘awesome’ to take on India for a place in the final at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on April 2.

‘There is no bigger rivalry in the game than that. We have not played each other in our own country in recent years,’ he said.

Source: Times of India & AFP