Sachin’s long wait ends with 2011 World Cup win
New Delhi (IANS). The 2011 ODI World Cup was supposed to be the last chance for legend Sachin Tendulkar to find fame.
Sachin had watched India’s 1983 World Cup win in England on TV as a child and was the ball boy when India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup. As a player, he was a part of the Indian team in every World Cup since 1992 but the World Cup eluded him.
He came close to getting his hands on the trophy in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Where he was the top scorer with 673 runs in 11 matches and became the player of the tournament. Although India lost to Australia in the final.
But in 2011, India jointly organized the World Cup with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. There was a strong possibility that India would win the trophy for Sachin in what would be his last chance for a world tournament.
As the most senior member of the experienced batting line-up, Sachin scored centuries against England and South Africa. He scored 53 in the quarter-final against Australia and 85 in the semi-final against Pakistan at Mohali for which he was awarded the player of the match.
In the title match against Sri Lanka at his hometown Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Sachin was able to score only 18 runs but two fine innings by Gautam Gambhir and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni fulfilled Sachin’s dream of becoming a world champion.
Yuvraj Singh took home the Player of the Tournament award while Sachin finished second with 482 runs behind Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan (500).
After winning the World Cup, Sachin was carried around the ground by his fellow players. The new member of the team, Virat Kohli said, “Sachin has carried the burden of the country on his shoulders for 21 years. Now it is time that we carry him on our shoulders.”
Yuvraj later said that the one particular person for whom he wanted to win the World Cup was Sachin.
Reacting to the world win, Sachin said in a 30-minute special radio show, “As a young boy I dreamed of winning the World Cup and now after winning it, I am at a loss for words. . It’s the best moment of my career. I’ve waited 21 years for this. It’s something special.”
He said, “This is my sixth World Cup. We lost once in the semi-finals and once in the final. It was heartbreaking. But you should never lose hope. It was my biggest dream, I chased it and it It came true.”
Sachin had to wait till 2011 to lift the World Cup trophy which shows that he was ready for it.
–IANS
