Three cheers to nine years!

MS Dhoni-led 2011 ICC World Cup-winning squad relive trophy glory on its ninth anniversary.

April 2, 2011, is a day that most Indian cricket fans will never forget; neither will the protagonists of that great World Cup glory fairytale. On Thursday, members of the victorious Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team recalled their historic World Cup final win over Sri Lanka nine years ago at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Scintillating knocks from Gautam Gambhir (97) and Dhoni (91 not out) saw India chase down Sri Lanka's 274-6 with 10 balls and six wickets to spare and clinch only their second ODI World Cup crown, after Kapil's Devils had achieved the feat 28 years ago. Player of the Tournament, Yuvraj Singh, who aggregated a mammoth 362 runs and accounted for 15 wickets in the tournament, was among the first to recall the win on Twitter. "Words will never be able to describe what a moment for every Indian it was. This is what we live for! Jai Hind," the stylish left-hander wrote to his 4.7 million Twitter followers. Fellow Punjabi and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh remarked to his 10.4 million Twitterati fans: "World Cup winner 2011. What a great day it was for the whole of India. Proud moment."

"Zak's performance against England. We would have lost that match had he not bowled and got a tie for us. Yuvi's tournament and that knock against Australia. Sachin in the semi-finals. Gautam and Mahi in the finals. You look around and you will find significant contributions," Harbhajan recalled to PTI.

Attacking left-hander Suresh Raina tweeted: "Things end but memories last forever. Remembering the rush, excitement, thrill of it all, of the fantastic moments lading up to u lifting the World Cup. Irreplaceable. Unforgettable. Thankful to have been a part of this iconic moment in the history of cricket." S Sreesanth has probably had the worst ride since, having been through the horrors of a match fixing investigation and a ban followed by a possible return to the game in the near future. "Today, in 2011, the 28-year-old wait came to an end. India lifted the World Cup after 28 years. A million emotions and a lot of fine memories running through my mind. A billion dreams fulfilled," the pacer tweeted.

Meanwhile, a lot of water has flown under that cricketing bridge since. Six players from that World Cup-winning side, including the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, have retired from the game. Yuvraj won a tough battle against cancer while the man, who carried Tendulkar on his shoulders around the Wankhede that night, Virat Kohli, has taken the Master Blaster's place as world cricket's premier batsman. Dhoni's international career is in the wilderness ever since he went in a sabbatical after the 2019 World Cup in England. Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has settled into a nice post-retirement life with some franchise coaching, while Gambhir has switched over to a career in politics.

21
No. of wickets taken by Zaheer Khan who was 2011 WC's joint-highest wicket-taker

With inputs from agencies

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