INDIA’s DHON IT!

By Dr. V.V. Giri

India produced a clinical and confident run chase under lights to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets and lift the trophy for the second time.

The ecstatic crowd clapped and cheered every run and, when captain M.S.Dhoni lifted the trophy, this incredible country of more than one billion people applauded and had probably never known such a joyous occasion in their life!

They didn't even mind that Sachin Tendulkar failed to complete his fairytale 100th international century in the Final on his home ground.

Tendulkar made just 18 but he was still given a lap on honour on his team-mates' shoulders.

India's heroes were Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni himself, who compiled a superb fourth-wicket stand of 109.

Gambhir was out for 97 but Dhoni steered his team across the winning line with a super cool innings of 91 not out. He finished the match in grand style by depositing a six into the crowd.

Dhoni and his team dealt with the suffocating sense of expectation with the assurance of a team who are used to winning in all formats of the game.

They are the world's No.1 ranked Test team now.

Muttiah Muralitharan also failed to make an impact in his final match for Sri Lanka and finished with 0-39 from his eight overs. One could see the pain in his eyes and it was a bad decision to play him instead of Mendis.

Sri Lanka's total of 274-6 was based around an elegant century by Mahela Jayawardene, who did not play a single violent shot, yet reached three figures from just 84 balls. Poor Indian bowling and field setting helped him to achieve this.

His strokes included cuts and he scored majority of his runs in the third man region.  Surprisingly, Dhoni didn’t have a deep third man for him most of the times.

Jayawardene became the sixth man to score a century in a World Cup Final - and the first to finish on the losing side.

India even overcame controversy and confusion at the toss which both captains believed they had won.

The coin landed heads side up and Kumar Sangakkara insisted he had called 'heads' but Dhoni was convinced he heard 'tails.'

Match referee Jeff Crowe claimed he could not hear because of the crowd noise - so he ordered a re-toss.

This time, Sangakkara won it and chose to bat. There would have been a huge row if Sri Lanka had won the match - because Dhoni also wanted to bat.

So had Sangakkara pulled a fast one(?) one snippet for the prosecution: if Sangakkara had called heads the first time around surely he would have made much more of a fuss when there was the suggestion of another toss? He, like Dhoni, was very keen, to bat first. Instead, he was all equivocation. Being a lawyer, Sangakkara will have an articulate defence, albeit a soft-spoken one, I suppose.

Steadily, Sri Lanka with their top-heavy batting line-up laid their foundations with Mahela Jayawardene to the fore. Immediately he suggested he was in sublime form and more than equal to the occasion. Singles were tapped from the middle of his bat. Then he began tapping the ball effortlessly to the boundary. There was never a crude shot.

Sangakkara was caught behind off Yuvraj for 48 but Jayawardene's composure never wavered alongside handy allies Thilan Samaraweera, Numan Kulasekera and Perera, who walloped 22 from nine balls at the end.

Sri Lanka caused mayhem in the final overs. In the batting power play, became mandatgory in the 46th over, they cracked 63 runs in five overs. Zaheer Khan, who yielded six runs in his first five overs, gave away 54 in his next five, 18 off his last over.

Virender Sehwag can shrink a target in no time, but he was lbw to Lasith Malinga's second ball. Arrogantly he wasted one of India's reviews.

No matter; there was still Tendulkar. The man for whom this tournament seemed to be designed began in sublime form, stroking boundaries off Kulasekera. But Malinga soon destroyed that fairytale. At the start of his fourth over Tendulkar drove and edged and departed in an eerie silence.

On 30, Gambhir was dropped at long-off from the bowling of Suraj Randiv, one of the startling Sri Lanka selections. Three days ago the lofty off-spinner was relaxing peacefully back at home. Now summoned as a replacement for Mathews he was thrust into a World Cup final.

Gambhir and Virat Kohli had added 83 together when Dilshan, bowling his unassuming off-breaks, held a brilliant return catch. Dhoni appeared. For a while it looked an odd decision. By the end it seemed like a stroke of genius.

Ultimately, in the battle of the captains Mahendra Dhoni, after a dodgy start to the day, prevailed in a pulsating climax to the tournament. There were suggestions that Dhoni had been hoodwinked at the toss by Kumar Sangakkara, but it was the India captain who had the last laugh when the fireworks exploded into the night sky of Mumbai.

Dhoni took the responsibility for winning the match with a brilliant innings of 91 from 79 balls. He has not been in great form in this tournament so what did he do? He promoted himself to No 5 when the third wicket fell at 114 for 3, ahead of the man deemed to be the player of the tournament, Yuvraj Singh. The target of 275 seemed a long way off.

Dhoni settled in leisurely fashion, or so it seemed, happy to pat the ball back in defence and to let Gautam Gambhir do most of the scoring. But, imperceptibly, it was Dhoni who took charge.

Forget the fairytale finish that had Sachin Tendulkar or Muttiah Muralitharan contriving a tear-stained swan song. The epitome of new India dominated the match. Dhoni is young enough to lead India to the next World Cup when he will be quite a rich man.

Tendulkar could only contribute the briefest of cameos in his home town, 18 in 14 balls. As for Muralitharan, initially he was treated with respect, but towards the end Dhoni punched him through the covers with awesome power.

By old standards, Murali was bowling donkey drops and with his body creaking, he could not muster any more venom. Towards the end he held out his hands in exasperation at the wet ball, at the mis-fields, but the true cause of his despair was the realisation that he was impotent to stem the Indian tide. Sangakkara did not even turn to him when the position was dire.

Meanwhile, Dhoni alongside Gambhir, the artisan within the India team, paced the chase with few frills. They added a crucial 109 together for the fourth wicket after Gambhir was bowled by Thisara Perera three short of his century.

Out came Yuvraj, so much later than expected, but it was Dhoni, the most chilled man in Mumbai, who led his side to victory in a masterful innings. He finished it with a six.

It may be that Sri Lanka tried to be too clever by half. They shuffled their side dramatically, making four changes from the semi-final, only one of them forced after Angelo Mathews's injury.

Ajantha Mendis, the unorthodox spinner, was omitted on the false basis that the Indians play him rather well. In this tournament Mendis has been bowling extremely well, but that was not deemed to be sufficiently relevant.

Both sides made several blunders in this final. Dhoni’s decision to drop Aswin again is still a mystery. But Dhoni with his pulsating knock covered up all the short falls.

A team of 11 Indian demigods - sometimes known here as cricketers - sent the nation into rapturous celebration by winning the World Cup and proving “WE ARE THE WORLD”