MS Dhoni came to bat at the no.5 position in the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
It was another ICC tournament final where another successful but surprising decision was taken by the captain MS Dhoni. It was ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final against Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai). After Sri Lanka scored 274/6 (50 overs), while India were struggling on 114/3, Dhoni came to bat at the no.5 position instead of in-form Yuvraj Singh.
While Yuvraj generally batted in that position during that CWC, Dhoni changed that batting order during that final game. Before that game, Dhoni wasn’t also in a very good form. However, once again Dhoni magic worked as he not only set the game-changing fourth-wicket partnership of 109 runs with Gautam Gambhir, the Indian captain also remained not out on 91 runs and won the Player of the Match award. Gambhir’s 97 runs and Dhoni’s 91 runs knock helped India to win that final as well as win that CWC trophy too.
Some believe that Dhoni took that surprising decision due to left-right hand batting combination. While the left-handed batsman Gambhir was already in the crease, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina were also the left-handed batsmen who were in the dressing room. That’s why the right-handed batsman Dhoni promoted his batting order.
Meanwhile, Dhoni claimed that he knew the Sri Lankan bowlers very well, including his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate Muttiah Muralitharan. So, that’s why he and the team management took that special chance.