Sachin’s runs, Yuvraj’s consistency, Zaheer’s wickets, Gambhir’s grit: India’s 2011 WC in numbers

On April 2, 2011 India became the first team ever to win the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup on home soil. In the history of the tournament, the home team had never been able to cross the final hurdle (or even get that far on most occasions.) MS Dhoni, with a swing of his bat that sent the ball over the boundary and a stylish twirl in the moments after, helped India end a 28-year wait for the title.

At Wankhede Stadium, Sachin Tendulkar went on to celebrate the greatest night of his cricketing career. Around the country, even around the world, Indian fans celebrated in droves. It is, arguably, the most popular result in Indian cricket history given how little was expected of Kapil’s Devils back in 1983. If that miraculous win was a massive upset, Dhoni’s army in 2011 had to carry the burden of expectations throughout the tournament at home.

India had to win it for Sachin. Sachin had to win it for India.

And with a superb run-chase led by Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni, India sealed a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai and sent the country into delirium.

Here is a look at the standout performers for India during the 2011 World Cup campaign that saw Dhoni and Co become champions:

Batting

While Dhoni’s title-winning six is the moment that has come to be etched in most of our memories, he would be the first to tell you it was a complete effort by the men in blue. Dhoni himself had a lackluster tournament with the bat before the final, while Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and, of course, Sachin Tendulkar, did the bulk of the scoring in the lead up to the final.

Not for the first time, Tendulkar was the team’s highest run-getter at a World Cup, behind only Tilakaratne Dilshan in the overall tally. Tendulkar was also one among the six players with two centuries in the tournament (and the only Indian).

In the knockouts, Gambhir really stepped up his game. With 174 runs in the three must-win matches, and the top score in the final, he was India’s crisis man and played his role in the top order to near perfection. With three runs left for a much-deserved century in the final, he fell to a rash shot and finished the tournament without a triple-figure score to his name.

In terms of the average, Yuvraj’s match-winning efforts in the middle order made sure he finished with a superb average of 90.50.

Bowling

Even though he finished the tournament with 18 runs off the last over he bowled, Zaheer Khan was undoubtedly the star of the campaign with the ball for India. His knuckle balls during the tournament were a revelation and he finished with 21 wickets. It was the joint-best tally for the tournament alongside Shahid Afridi, who also took 21 having played one fewer match.

But the real plus for Dhoni during the campaign was how Yuvraj chipped in with the crucial wickets throughout. The fact that he picked up as many wickets as Zaheer in the knockout stages goes to show how important his bowling was for Dhoni during the tournament. He was also the only Indian bowler to pick up a five-for, which came against Ireland.

It was not a surprise that Yuvraj was the player of the tournament.

All tables courtesy ESPNCricinfo Statsguru