New Delhi
The ‘God of Cricket’ Sachin Tendulkar answered all the questions of the fans through the ‘Ask Me Anaiting’ session on the Redit. During this time, he was also asked a question as to why he had suggested to take off Mahendra Singh Dhoni before Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup final. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain in the 2011 World Cup but his decision to land before Yuvraj Singh was not his own, but of Sachin Tendulkar. There was a title match between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Maidan in Mumbai. Sri Lanka, batting first, scored 274 runs for 6 wickets. In response, India’s 3 wickets had fallen for 114 runs. Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli had gone out to Pavilion.
After Kohli’s dismissal, Yuvraj Singh was supposed to land but Mahendra Singh Dhoni landed in his place. Sachin Tendulkar was behind this. He suggested this to the then coach Gary Kirsten. Later, Virender Sehwag had revealed that Sachin Tendulkar had suggested batting by promoting Dhoni before Yuvraj Singh in the final. In Redit’s ‘AMA’ session, a fan asked Sachin on the basis of the same revelation of Sehwag if what Veeru had said is true and what was the reason for such a strategic change?
Master-Blaster gave 2 reasons to promote Dhoni before Yuvraj Singh. He said, ‘There were two reasons for this. The left-right batting combination would have caused both off-spinners. Apart from this, Muralitharan had played for CSK (2008 to 2010) and MS played him in the nets for three seasons. Talking about the 2011 final, India’s first wicket as Virender Sehwag fell for 1 run. After that, only 30 runs were connected in the scoreboard that Sachin Tendulkar also became a victim of Lasith Malinga by scoring 18 runs. At that time, the partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli barely raised the team.
Kohli was also dismissed for 35 runs on the team score of 114 runs. Since Gautam Gambhir was a left-handed batsman, Sachin suggested the latter-hander Mahendra Singh Dhoni before Lefty Yuvraj Singh. There was a 119 -run partnership between Dhoni and Gooty. Gambhir missed a century by just three runs and was dismissed. After his dismissal, Yuvraj Singh landed to bat. He and Dhoni together made India win by 6 wickets and made India the world champion. Mahendra Singh Dhoni played an unbeaten innings of 91 runs in 79 balls.
