Relive the magic of Dhoni’s epic six! How ‘Men in Blue’ are revisiting India’s iconic 2011 World Cup victory

April 2 is a date forever etched in the memory of Indian cricket fans — on this day 11 years ago, India snapped a 28-year curse and finally lifted the ICC Cricket World Cup on home soil.

This title triumph finally fulfilled the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s childhood dream — it was a swansong like no other for the maestro. He had five unsuccessful attempts before 2011 — falling at the last hurdle in 2003, surrendering a commanding position in the 1996 semi final. But when he did get his hands on the trophy, it was on home soil, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where he spent hundreds of thousands of hours honing his skills.

But 2011 was not only about Sachin. It was about Zaheer Khan’s blistering pace bowling, Gautam Gambhir’s anchor innings at the top, Yuvraj Singh’s Player-of-the-Series performance despite suffering from cancer. And last, but not the least, MS Dhoni’s iconic six to seal the title.

The 2011 World Cup final started with the infamous toss, which took place twice due to a misunderstanding between the captains. Sri Lanka, who chose to bat after winning the toss, got off to the worst possible start as Zaheer bowled three maidens. However, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene steadied the Lankan ship, with the latter scoring an unbeaten 103 runs to propel Sri Lanka to 274/6.

India fared no better, losing Virender Sehwag for a duck, with Sachin following soon after as Men in Blue were reduced to 31/2. But Gambhir and Virat Kohli put on an 83-run stand to steady the innings. After Kohli’s dismissal, Dhoni walked in. And once he settled, unleashed his brutal hitting on the Lankan bowlers. Gambhir’s wicket in between disrupted the flow but Dhoni and Yuvraj ensured no further hiccups.

In the penultimate over, Dhoni struck Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on for a six as India were crowned world champions. No one captured the mood of the nation at the time than Ravi Shastri, who was in the commentary box: “MS Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd! India lift the World Cup after 28 years! The party start in the dressing room!”

As the country celebrates the 11th anniversary of that triumph, the 2011 Men in Blue also joined in.