Yuvraj Singh reveals why Team India wanted to win the World Cup for Sachin in 2011

Yuvraj Singh revealed why Team India wanted to gift the 2011 World Cup to Sachin Tendulkar. Prior to the 10th edition of the quadrennial event, Sachin had already featured in five World Cups starting from the 1992 edition. He was the leading scorer in 1996 with 523 runs from seven matches. India had a good campaign but crashed out in the semi-finals after losing to the eventual winners Sri Lanka.

The Master Blaster was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in the 2003 edition with 673 runs from 11 matches. The Men In Blue had an outstanding run as they made the finals. However, the Little Master was dismissed in the very first over in the decider chasing a mammoth target of 360 as Australia successfully retained their title and won the coveted trophy for a record third time by a comprehensive margin of 125 runs.

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'Always a desire': Yuvraj Singh

“The 2011 was his last World Cup and he knew that. He was carrying the weight of Indian cricket on his shoulders for almost 22 years and we wanted to give him a very satisfactory career where at the end he had that World Cup which was always a desire. It was more of a team effort that we actually wanted to do it for Sachin,” said Yuvi while interacting on a video that was uploaded by Netflix titled ‘Stories Behind the Story.’

India create history at the Wankhede 

India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by six wickets. At the same time, the Men In Blue also became the first team to win the coveted trophy on home soil. 

Sri Lanka who were playing in their second straight World Cup final had posted a stiff total of 274/6 in their 50 overs. In reply, India got off to a horrendous start after big-hitter Virender Sehwag was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Lasith Malinga. The Men In Blue were in a spot of bother after Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal as the scorecard read 31/2. Gambhir then took the charge of scoring runs and was ably supported by a young Virat Kohli (35) as the duo added 83 runs for the third wicket stand.

After Kohli's dismissal, in a rather surprising move, MS Dhoni came out at number four ahead of an in-form Yuvraj Singh. The two were then involved in a 109-run fourth-wicket stand. Gautam Gambhir was castled by Thisara Perera for a 122-ball 97. However, it did not matter as the match was in India's grasp by then and MS Dhoni finished it in style by dispatching Nuwan Kulasekara into the stands as India won their second World Cup after a long wait of 28 years. 

"Dhoni finishes off in style. It's a magnificent strike into the crowd. India lift the World Cup after 28 years. The party has started in the dressing room and it's an Indian captain, who has been absolutely magnificent on the night of the finals," said Ravi Shastri from the commentary box.