Picture Credit: Twitter
2nd April 2011, Wankhede Stadium and MS Dhoni, these three bring some really good memories for Indian cricket fans. No one can forget that monstrous six from MS Dhoni to finish things off for India against Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final. With the visuals of that shot comes the echoing voice of Ravi Shastri. After "And Sreesanth takes it", "Dhoni finishes off in style" became another iconic line in Indian cricket history.
Now, as the Indian cricket team and its fans celebrate the 11th anniversary of the historic World Cup win, Ravi Shastri recreated the iconic moment for the fans on the Star Sports show for the IPL match. Shastri spoke the iconic lines in both Hindi and English viewers as the video of the visuals of the six was played alongside.
"The moment has come. Samay aagya hai. Dhoni goes big. Bohot his zabardast shot, bilkul crowd ki beech mein. Dhoni finishes off in style. Aur ye World Cup India ko 28 saal ke baad. The party begins in the dressing room, Mumbai is alive. Marine Drive pe part scenes dikhayi de rhe hain," spoke Ravi Shastri.
Watch the video here:
Memories still afresh for many even after 11 years
Although it has been over a decade since India beat Sri Lanka in the finals to lift the World Cup after 28 years, the memories still stay afresh in many minds, be it the fans or the cricketers who were a part of the squad. Virat Kohli, who also played a crucial innings of 35 in avoiding a collapse went down memory lane to remember what Sachin Tendulkar said to him when he walked out to bat. Kohli also said that the crowd singing 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jo Jeeta Vahi Sikandar' stays rent-free in his mind.
Sachin paaji had a brief chat with me when I walked in. He said, ‘build a partnership’. And we did build a partnership, me and Gautam Gambhir,” Kohli recalled.
“I got 35 and it was probably the most important 35 in my cricket career. I felt very happy that I was a part of putting the team back on track and contributing in the way that I could. Just the thrill of winning the World Cup was something unbelievable. The atmosphere of the crowd singing 'Vande Mataram' and 'Jo Jeeta Vahi Sikandar' songs was surreal. It is something that is so fresh in our memories even now,” the former India captain added.