Throwback 2011: When Gambhir’s 97 Guided India to World Cup Glory

What did he think when he saw Dhoni come out to bat instead of Yuvraj? Gambhir tells The Quint in this video.

India’s World Cup winning team in 2011. 

(Photo: Reuters)

Nine years back, to the day, a fresh chapter of Indian cricket was written at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

MS Dhoni and his band of extraordinary cricketers chased down the 275-run target set by Sri Lanka and became the first host team to win the ICC World Cup. The skipper himself hit the winning runs and the celebrations continued for weeks.

But with India at 31/2 during the chase, the story could very well have ended in Sri Lanka’s favour. Both Sachin and Sehwag were back in the hut and Gautam Gambhir looked on as MS Dhoni made the big decision of promoting himself in Yuvraj’s place and joined the Delhi batsman in the middle.

Gambhir went on to score 97 in the match before Dhoni and Yuvraj guided the team past the finish line.

“For a country obsessed with hundreds, mine is a 97 the nation will remember,” said Gautam Gambhir, reminiscing the final in an exclusive chat with The Quint. Watch the video as he shares his memories from six years back.

(This story was first published on 1 April 2017 and has been reposted from The Quint's archives to mark the anniversary of India’s 2011 World Cup win)