India won the title by defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. India won the World Cup for the first time after 28 years. Before the final, India faced a tougher competition than that. Pakistan were the opponents in the semi-finals. Pakistan came close to defeating India in the match at Mohali, but Dhoni and his team came out victorious.
Spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was in the team at that time, reveals that it was Dhoni’s decision that made India win against Pakistan. With the support of Sachin Tendulkar’s 85 runs and Suresh Raina’s 36 runs, India scored 260 runs batting first. Batting in reply, Pakistan suffered an early slump but later came back into the game.
A winnable score for Pakistan in Mohali was 260. However, they kept losing wickets under intense pressure. At one point, Pakistan lost 4 wickets for 106 runs in 25.4 overs. With Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal coming together here, India were under pressure. After the drinks break, Harbhajan breaks the partnership.
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Harbhajan said that he had given away around 27 runs in the first five overs. Dhoni asked him to bowl during the drinks break. Dhoni’s suggestion was to bowl around the wicket. In the second spell, he bowled after praying to God and was able to drop Akmal on the very first ball. Bhaji also recalled that it was Dhoni’s strategy that won the team that day. Pakistan’s innings ended on 231 after Akmal was dismissed.
Kiran More criticized the team selection