Twenty-eight years after Kapil Dev's balcony at Lord's, India won the World Cup again, and this time they did it at home, in Mumbai, in front of the man who had carried the country's cricket for twenty-two years. The final against Sri Lanka on 2 April 2011 ended with a six, a twirl of the bat and a line of commentary that every Indian can finish: "Dhoni finishes off in style."
274 to win
Sri Lanka batted first after a toss that had to be done twice because the match referee could not hear Kumar Sangakkara's call over the noise. Mahela Jayawardene played the innings of the tournament, 103 not out from 88 balls, and Sri Lanka finished on 274 for 6. Zaheer Khan had started with three maidens and taken 2 for 60, Yuvraj Singh 2 for 49, but 275 in a final at the Wankhede, with the dew coming and the crowd waiting, was a serious target.
It became more serious in the first over. Virender Sehwag was leg before to Lasith Malinga for 0. Sachin Tendulkar, in his sixth World Cup, playing in his home city, made 18 and then edged Malinga to Sangakkara. India were 31 for 2, and the stadium went quiet in a way that stadiums rarely do.
Gambhir and Dhoni
Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli steadied the innings with a stand of 83, Kohli being caught and bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan for 35. Then MS Dhoni did the thing that captains are praised for only when it works. He promoted himself above Yuvraj Singh, the player of the tournament, because he wanted a right-hander against Muttiah Muralitharan, whom he had faced for years at Chennai Super Kings.
Gambhir made 97, out trying to reach a hundred with a wild swipe at Thisara Perera. Dhoni, who had barely scored a run all tournament, made 91 not out from 79 balls. He and Gambhir added 109; he and Yuvraj added 54 more. In the 49th over, with four needed, Kulasekara bowled a length ball and Dhoni hit it over long-on into the stand. Ravi Shastri, on commentary, said the words. Dhoni twirled the bat. Yuvraj, at the other end, was already crying.
Sachin on shoulders
Virat Kohli, 22 years old and the youngest member of the side, helped carry Tendulkar around the ground on the team's shoulders. "He has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years," he said. "It was time we carried him." India had become the first host nation to win the World Cup, and the first to chase in a final at home.
Why it matters
The 2011 World Cup was the one Tendulkar had never won, and the one Dhoni built his legend on. It closed the circle that opened at Lord's in 1983, and it did so with a shot that is now simply called "the six". Children in India who were not born in 2011 can still show you the bat twirl.
