2nd April 2011 is a date etched in the memories of Indian cricket fans. India lifted the 50 over World Cup on the day after 28 years. The whole nation went berserk with celebrations after their team achieved the feat. The then Indian captain MS Dhoni hit a six off Nuwan Kulasekera to win India the World Cup. The six has become a symbol of India’s World Cup win.
Harbhajan Singh was an integral part of the team. He picked up 9 wickets in the tournament and played an important role in the team’s bowling efforts. He has recently spoken up on fans crediting MSD for the World Cup 2011 win. Notably, Dhoni was going through a rough patch in the tournament before scoring a match-winning 91 runs in the finals.
Cricket is a team sports, it is not possible for a single individual to win a tournament. The former Indian off-spinner said the same when asked about India’s iconic win. “When Australia wins the World Cup at that time everyone says ‘Australia won the World Cup.’ When India wins the World Cup at that time, everyone said, ‘MS Dhoni won the World Cup. Toh baaki ke 10 waha lassi peene gaye the?’, Harbhajan said during a conversation on Star Sports.
Bhajji on 🔥🤣🤣🤣... But no hate for MS 👍 pic.twitter.com/4tXxc90lt6
— Arghya Dey (@91_arghya) April 11, 2022
“What did the other 10 players do? What did Gautam Gambhir do? What did the others do? It’s a team game. When 7-8 players play well only then your team will progress,” he further added.
Notably, Gautam Gambhir scored 97 runs in the finals while Yuvraj Singh earned the Player of the Series award for his all-round performance. Sachin Tendulkar was the highest run-scorer for India and Zaheer Khan was the joint highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 21 wickets. So, Harbhajan is justified in getting disappointed if only one player is credited for the memorable win, it was a genuine team effort that helped India achieve the feat.