The 2011 ODI World Cup saw a number of India players putting up a memorable show with Yuvraj Singh leading the way, producing a player-of-the-tournament award winning performance. Each player made vital contributions at various stages of the marquee event culminating in India’s win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
Among the often talked about performances from the tournament is the one from the then India captain MS Dhoni in the title clash as he scored an uneaten 91 during an innings that saw him sealing the win with the iconic six at Wankhede Stadium.
Chasing 275, India though found themselves in a tricky spot when Virat Kohli fell for 35 in the 22nd over with the scorecard reading 114/3.
It was the turn of Yuvraj Singh to walk out to the middle at no. 5 but in a surprise turn of events, Dhoni promoted himself up the batting order instead.
Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan, who was part of the playing XI in the final, recalled the moment saying he was expecting that to happen since Dhoni knew how to deal with his bowling having played him in the nets as teammates during IPL.
“I knew because Yuvraj was not comfortable to play me,” Muralitharan said during the launch of 2023 ODI World Cup schedule in Mumbai on Tuesday. “Yuvi was the best player in the world cup. I was bowling well but was wicketless. I knew Dhoni will come before Yuvraj because he knows how to play me well because I used to bowl in Chennai to him.”
Sri Lanka though have failed to earn a direct qualification for the world cup in India this year and are currently taking part in a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe.
Muralitharan, widely regarded as one of the greatest spinners to have played the game, says that Sri Lanka haven’t been at their best for some time now.
‘Sri Lanka is already doing preparations in qualifiers. It is unfortunate for us to play qualifiers. We haven’t played to our potential in the last 3-4 years. Yes we won Asia Cup but that was T20. ODI is completely different from T20s. We will be a threat to all the good teams. We are not pushovers. To win the WC, you need luck. You never know,” he said.
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