New Delhi: Former India captain MS Dhoni wants Team India to win as many World Cups as possible in the future. Dhoni, who led India to a memorable triumph in the 2011 ODI World Cup, revealed his heartfelt wish for the Indian men’s and women’s teams while speaking at a private event in Vadodara, Gujarat, on Tuesday.
Dhoni revealed his wish for India while recalling the best moment of his career that came during the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Dhoni played a match-winning knock of an unbeaten 91 as India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final to lift the elusive trophy.
When asked to share a moment from his cricketing career that made him emotional, Dhoni recalled Indian fans singing Vande Mataram in chorus during the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium. The former India captain said it was the best moment of his cricketing career.
“It is about the 2011 World Cup. It was 15-20 minutes before the final. Wankhede is not a very big stadium but all the noise stays inside. The whole stadium started to chant Vande Mataram. It was not synchronised but standing in the middle, you could feel it moving around. In my career, I would say that was the best atmosphere and feeling I had at that point of time. It got me emotionally very high, and that was a very touching moment,” Dhoni said at the event.
The former India captain reckoned it would be hard to recreate a moment like that, but he wished the Indian team success both at home and overseas. Dhoni said he wishes God helps India win 100 more World Cups across men’s and women’s events in the future.
“It is very difficult to recreate that kind of moment. India dobara jeetegi, Women’s team jeetegi, Men’s team jeetegi, India mai jeetegi, India ke bahar jeetegi, bhagwan kare 100 baar jeete (India will win again, the Women’s team will win, the Men’s team will win, they will win in India and outside India as well, may god bless them to win 100 times),” added the former India captain.
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When MS Dhoni ended India’s 28-year-long wait for 2nd ODI World Cup title
Dhoni-led India brought an end to country’s 28-year-long wait for the second World Cup trophy in 2011. India beat Australia in a high-octane semi-final, before thrashing Sri Lanka in the all-important final at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai to lift the elusive trophy.
Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir played match-winning knocks for India in the final to help them chase down the target of 275 runs with 10 balls to spare. Gambhir played a sublime knock of 97 runs, while Dhoni scored an unbeaten 91. Dhoni hit an iconic six to wrap up India’s memorable victory in the final.
It was India’s second World Cup crown after the Kapil Dev-led side’s maiden triumph in 1983. India have since failed to lift a third ODI World Cup in men’s cricket. The Rohit Sharma-led team came close to winning the third title in 2023, but missed out after a heartbreaking loss to Australia in the final.
Harmanpreet Kaur-led India fulfilled India’s wish of winning a World Cup by lifting their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup title this year. The Indian women’s team defeated South Africa in the final at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai to script history.