David Stone
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India won their second World Cup pulling off an impressive run chase to thrash Sri Lanka by six wickets in a pulsating Mumbai final.
A sparkling unbeaten 91 from 79 balls from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and an immaculate 97 from Gautam Gambhir under intense pressure made sure that India are the first team to win the World Cup on home soil.
The fourth-wicket pair ensured India did not panic in front of a capacity home crowd after the early loss of big guns Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in pursuit of 274 for six to deliver World Cup glory to their cricket-mad population for the first time since 1983,
Yuvraj Singh made 21 from 24 while Muttiah Muralidaran's, playing his last ODI, final bowling figures in his final international are 8-0-39-0.
Earlier, an silky unbeaten century from Mahela Jayawardene powered Sri Lanka to a highly competitive 274 for 6 in 50 overs.
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India lost Sehwag very early in the run chase, and Tendulkar did not last long either. The scorecard read 31/2 in the 7th over and it was Gambhir and Virat Kohli who had to do the rebuilding.
Run rate was never a problem for the Indians as the duo, who are also terrific runners between the wickets, pinched the ones and twos without any hassles. It required the magic arm of Tilakratne Dilshan to remove a well set Kohli and the Indians were in a spot of bother at 114/3.
Captain Dhoni chose himself to come ahead of Yuvraj to keep the left hand - right hand combination intact. Dhoni was going through a very rough patch when it comes to batting, but he made it count when it mattered the most.
He along with Gambhir brought the runs required to less than a hundred and the required rate was just close to a run a ball. Sri Lanka desperately needed a couple of quick wickets and Perera gave them a ray of hope by removing Gambhir. It would be only fair to say that it was Gambhir who gave Sri Lanka some hope by throwing his wicket away.
Dhoni and Yuvraj took the game closer and a thrilling finish was on the cards. They needed 30 off 30 deliveries when the batting powerplay became mandatory.
They were up against a lethal bowler in Malinga. Just three runs of the Malinga over meant the Indians needed 27 off the next four overs. There were nerves all around, but the two batsmen in the middle looked to be in a different world altogether. Pressure was just a distant relative and they kept their cool to help India romp home with 10 deliveries to spare
A sparkling unbeaten 91 from 79 balls from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and an immaculate 97 from Gautam Gambhir under intense pressure made sure that India are the first team to win the World Cup on home soil.
The fourth-wicket pair ensured India did not panic in front of a capacity home crowd after the early loss of big guns Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in pursuit of 274 for six to deliver World Cup glory to their cricket-mad population for the first time since 1983,
Yuvraj Singh made 21 from 24 while Muttiah Muralidaran's, playing his last ODI, final bowling figures in his final international are 8-0-39-0.
Earlier, an silky unbeaten century from Mahela Jayawardene powered Sri Lanka to a highly competitive 274 for 6 in 50 overs.
.
India lost Sehwag very early in the run chase, and Tendulkar did not last long either. The scorecard read 31/2 in the 7th over and it was Gambhir and Virat Kohli who had to do the rebuilding.
Run rate was never a problem for the Indians as the duo, who are also terrific runners between the wickets, pinched the ones and twos without any hassles. It required the magic arm of Tilakratne Dilshan to remove a well set Kohli and the Indians were in a spot of bother at 114/3.
Captain Dhoni chose himself to come ahead of Yuvraj to keep the left hand - right hand combination intact. Dhoni was going through a very rough patch when it comes to batting, but he made it count when it mattered the most.
He along with Gambhir brought the runs required to less than a hundred and the required rate was just close to a run a ball. Sri Lanka desperately needed a couple of quick wickets and Perera gave them a ray of hope by removing Gambhir. It would be only fair to say that it was Gambhir who gave Sri Lanka some hope by throwing his wicket away.
Dhoni and Yuvraj took the game closer and a thrilling finish was on the cards. They needed 30 off 30 deliveries when the batting powerplay became mandatory.
They were up against a lethal bowler in Malinga. Just three runs of the Malinga over meant the Indians needed 27 off the next four overs. There were nerves all around, but the two batsmen in the middle looked to be in a different world altogether. Pressure was just a distant relative and they kept their cool to help India romp home with 10 deliveries to spare