Harbhajan Singh reveals how MS Dhoni helped him turn around the match against Pakistan during 2011 World Cup

Harbhajan Singh reveals how MS Dhoni helped him turn around the match against Pakistan during 2011 World Cup

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Aug 16, 2022 - 10:23
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Harbhajan Singh reveals how MS Dhoni helped him turn around the match against Pakistan during 2011 World Cup
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Team India's 2011 World Cup win remains etched in the memory of every cricket fan. It was the Men in Blue’s second ODI World Cup win after 28 years and it came under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in the summit clash, which was played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Notably, to make it to the final, India had got the better of arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final match in Mohali. Talking about the high-octane clash, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh revealed how Dhoni’s advice helped him get a crucial breakthrough, which was also his first wicket of the match.

After opting to bat first against Pakistan in the semis, India rode on Sachin Tendulkar’s 115-ball 85 to set a challenging 261-run target for the arch-nemesis.

During the run-chase, Pakistan lost the plot after a brisk start and were reeling at 106/4. However, their then skipper Misbah-ul-Haq helped the Men in Green to bounce back in the match as he started to build a dangerous-looking partnership with Umar Akmal, who was quick in scoring runs and even smashed a four and two sixes during his stay at the crease.

However, Dhoni came up with a master plan that helped Harbhajan to break the partnership between Misbah and Akmal.

"It was one of those games where I felt I was getting a bit numb. I had bowled five overs and conceded around 26-27 runs. It was a water break, and Dhoni told me, 'Bhajju pa, aap vahan se daaloge' (around the wicket). Kamran (Umar) was playing good, so was Misbah. And they were scoring runs and the partnership was getting dangerous," Harbhajan said as he recalled the moment on Star Sports' Dil Se India.

"So I came to bowl. I remembered God. I just prayed for a win. And God did listen to me. On the very first ball, I got the wicket of Kamran (Umar) Akmal as I bowled around the wicket. He completely missed the ball."

Interestingly, Akmal’s wicket proved to be the turning point of the match as, after his dismissal, Pakistan’s batting order collapsed as they lost their star all-rounder duo of Abdul Razzaq (3) and Shahid Afridi (19) cheaply, while Misbah (56) tried to hold the fort from the other end. But, it was not enough for the Men in Green as they were bowled out for 231, thus losing the match by 29 runs.

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