‘I had a point to prove to myself’ – MS Dhoni reflects on 2011 World Cup final

MS Dhoni (Photo Source: Twitter)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, recognized as one of the greatest skippers in Indian cricket, led Team India to lift the world cup for the second time after a span of 28 years on April 2, 2011. As the entire country commemorates India’s ODI historical triumph, Dhoni’s post-match comments duly portray his exceptional leadership qualities.

The legendary keeper-batter had led the team from the front in the final against Sri Lanka at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium after promoting himself to bat at No. 5. The big hitter along with Gautam Gambhir, stitched a match-winning 109-run stand, which piloted India to the world cup glory. Notably, Dhoni finished the chase with an iconic six while batting on 85 off 78 balls. Consequently, the then-Indian skipper was adjudged the Player of the Match for his match-winning knock.

Dhoni admitted that he took some risky decisions during the final which included promoting himself over Yuvraj Singh. Furthermore, those calculative yet risky moves motivated him to perform well in the match. He stated that if India had lost the final, he would have been questioned about the changes he made.

‘That pushed me and motivated to do well’ – Dhoni on taking risks and backing himself in the World Cup final

“I took a quite few decisions tonight (April 2, 2011), if we had not won, I would have been asked quite a few questions: Why no Ashwin, Why Sreesanth? Why no Yuvraj, Why did I bat ahead?! That pushed me and motivated to do well,” Dhoni said in the post-match presentation.

Notably, MS Dhoni had not performed well with the bat with his best score being 34 runs before the grand final. Post the game, the Ranchi-born cricketer stated that the then-India head coach, Gary Kirsten and senior players had encouraged him to bat at No. 5. Moreover, he also wanted to prove himself. Thereafter, the legendary stumper-batter commented on Gambhir’s match-defining knock by saying he’d hoped the left-hander to get to his century which the latter missed by a whisker.

“The pressure had got to me in the previous games. In this game, I wanted to bat up the order and Gary (Kirsten) backed me and by the senior players. I had a point to prove to myself. Virat (Kohli) and Gautam (Gambhir) batted brilliantly; with lots of singles. Then with the help of a bit of dew, we put pressure on the spinners. I would have liked Gautam to go on and get that big hundred,” Dhoni concluded.