Sachin Tendulkar Reveals How CSK Played A Part In India Winning 2011 World Cup Final

The 2011 World Cup Final at the Wankhede, to this date, remains the biggest and most emotional moment for Indian cricket this century, as that night in Mumbai saw the Men in Blue end a 28-year-long drought in front of home supporters.

There, India successfully chased down 275, and it was a tactical masterstroke to promote MS Dhoni to No.5 — ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh — that paid dividends for the Men in Blue. Dhoni walked in at 114/3, under considerable pressure, and posted 91* off 79 balls to propel India to the title. 

It’s the most significant tactical tweak arguably made in Indian cricket history, and in a Q&A session on Reddit in the r/IndiaCricket subreddit, Sachin Tendulkar confirmed that it was he who suggested the swap, and revealed the reasons behind it. 

“There were 2 reasons. The left right batting combination would have upset the two off-spinners, also Muralitharan had played for CSK (from 2008-2010) and MS had played him for 3 seasons in the nets,” Sachin said in response to a question which asked whether it was his call to suggest the change, and if so why.

As it turned out, that night, Dhoni took 22 runs off 22 balls against Muralitharan, and a further 14 runs off 15 balls against Suraj Randiv, also an off-spinner. By starving Sri Lanka of wickets in the middle-overs while milking runs easily, Dhoni and India managed to break the back of the chase.

Fittingly, it was Dhoni who hit the winning six that helped India lift their first and only 50-over World Cup title in the 21st century.