What MS Dhoni Said After 2011 World Cup Win Sums Up The Leader He Is
MS Dhoni helped India end the 28-year-long drought of winning the ODI World Cup as his team defeated Sri Lanka in the 2011.
One of the finest cricketers to ever play the sport, MS Dhoni is a name that has been embedded in the minds of every cricket lover. As a captain, Dhoni's achievements remain unparalleled. The wicket-keeper batter led the Indian team from the front, helping them win the 2007 ICC World T20, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy, setting benchmarks for future generations. As entire India celebrates the anniversary of India's ODI World Cup triumph in 2011, Dhoni's comments from the match still remain a lesson for all those aspiring to become great leaders.
During the course of the match, Dhoni took several bold decisions, one of which was promoting himself over Yuvraj Singh. After the match, Dhoni admitted that those bold calls motivated him to do well as many questions would've been raised had he failed to deliver.
"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 that night.
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Until the final game, Dhoni's best was only a 34-run knock in the World Cup. That day, however, he scored an unbeaten 91 and was named the 'Man of the Match'.
"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; lots of singles. Then with the help of bit of dew, we put pressure on the spinners. I would have liked Gautam to go on and get that big hundred," Dhoni had further said.
Chasing a total of 275, Gautam Gambhir struck 97 off 122 while coming out to bat at No. 3 while Dhoni scored a 75-ball 91 to wrap up the chase in 48.2 overs.
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MS Dhoni