Gautam Gambhir-Virat Kohli partnership turning point of 2011 WC final: Suresh Raina

India celebrated the ninth anniversary of its 2011 World Cup triumph on Thursday. The date of April 2 is etched in the minds of Indian cricket fans across the globe. It has been 9 years since India went on to lift it's second-ever ODI World Cup trophy after defeating Sri Lanka in the final at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni's six to seal the deal for India sent fans into a frenzy as the whole nation celebrated Team India's triumph.

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Suresh Raina terms Gautam Gambhir-Virat Kohli partnership as the most important one

Reflecting upon the 2011 World Cup final, Suresh Raina said that it was Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli’s partnership that turned the game around for India. After losing openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar early, Team India was reeling at 31/2 when Virat Kohli came to the crease. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli's left-hand, right-hand combination put together 83 runs for the third wicket and stabilized the innings.

In an interview with Sportstar, Suresh Raina added that the turning point was Gautam Gambhir and his continuous rotation of the strike with Virat Kohli, which set up the tone for the chase. Suresh Raina further said that both the players knew the importance of sustaining the left-right combination as next in line were Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and himself. Suresh Raina said that the only area of concern was MS Dhoni's performance in the World Cup so far but he was confident that MS Dhoni would definitely deliver in the final.

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Suresh Raina said that he thought it was a good chase because of the left-right combination. He added that when Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were at the crease, they didn’t know where to bowl because of the dew. Raina lauded both Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir saying that they played spin very well, taking a lot of singles. Raina further said that both the batsmen did really well under the pressure conditions and in 30-32 overs they soaked up the pressure really, really well-making things easier for the team.

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Gautam Gambhir went on to play a wonderful innings of 97 runs as he missed out on a well-deserved ton. Virat Kohli was dismissed for a useful 35 when he was caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan off his own bowling.

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IMAGE COURTESY: ICC TWITTER