Team India‘s 2011 World Cup win is etched in the memory of every Indian cricket fan. 11 years ago, the MS Dhoni-led side ended the country’s 28-year-wait and defeated Sri Lanka in the final to lift the trophy. Chasing a target of 275, India lost few early wickets and were 3 down at 114 at one stage.

Following Virat Kohli’s dismissal, Yuvraj Singh was slated to come out to the middle and accompany Gautam Gambhir. But the plans changed and Dhoni was promoted to bat ahead of the in-form batsman.

The move to promote Dhoni did wonders and he added 109 runs for the 4th wicket with Gambhir to put India on the brink of a win. Recalling the 2011 WC final, former India coach Paddy Upton has made a big claim and said that MS Dhoni is a massive high-pressure player whereas that isn’t the case with Yuvraj.

“He (MS Dhoni) would do what he is the best in the world at – which is seeing a team home in a chase in the second innings in a white-ball game. He had delivered nothing in the eight games before the final. Yuvraj had done his bit, he had played his tournament. He was done, he was spent. That moment was set up for someone like Dhoni. There are very few players in the world who are genuine “massive high-pressure” players. Yuvraj Singh is not one of those, Dhoni is,” he wrote in his column for The Indian Express.

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Yuvraj was in form during the tournament and finished with 362 runs and 15 wickets. Courtesy of his all-round performance, he was bestowed with the Player of the Tournament Award.

On the other hand, Dhoni wasn’t having a great run with the bat and hadn’t scored a half-century until the final. He stepped up in the summit clash and proved that it was a masterstroke to bat ahead of Yuvraj.

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India came close to defending their trophy in 2015 and progressed to the semi-final with wins in all the league stage matches. The Dhoni-led side lost to Australia in the knockout match. In 2019, the Virat Kohli-led side crashed out after losing to New Zealand in the semi-final.

With the 2023 World Cup slated to be played in India, the Men in Blue will back themselves to end the 12-year wait to lift the trophy.