It has been close to 12 years since India scripted history by winning the 2011 World Cup at home under the leadership of MS Dhoni. They defeated Sri Lanka to clinch the trophy, Dhoni finishing things in style with a towering six. The 2011 World Cup win was India’s first win after a long wait of 28 years at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

“The best feeling was 15-20 minutes (before the winning moment). We didn’t need a lot of runs, the partnership was well-placed, there was a lot of dew. And the stadium started to sing Vande Mataram. That atmosphere I feel is very difficult to recreate – maybe in this [upcoming 2023] World Cup, there is a similar scenario, once the stadium, the fans start contributing. You know, it’s a very difficult (atmosphere) one to replicate. But it can only be replicated if the occasion is similar to that (in 2011) and there are like 40, 50 or 60,000 people who are singing,” Dhoni quoted on speaking in a conversation with former Australian batsman Mike Hussey in an ICC event.

Sri Lanka batted first and posted a decent total of 274 for 6 in the allotted 50 overs. In reply, India were reeling at 114 for 3 but then Gautam Gambhir and Dhoni put up a 109-run partnership and helped India clinch the trophy. Dhoni scored an unbeaten 91 runs and finished the match with a six.

“To me, it was not the winning moment, it was 15-20 minutes ago when emotionally I was very high. And at the same time, I wanted to get done with it. We knew that we would win this from here, and it was very difficult for us to lose. So yes, you know it was more of a sense of satisfaction, job done, let’s move on from here,” said Dhoni.

The former India skipper also said that the 2011 World Cup was one of the biggest events in his career. According to him, it was special because it transpired in front of the home crowd.

“It never gets bigger than that. What I always firmly believe in is to keep your eyes on the target, as simple as possible. Once you have achieved it, that’s the time when you can enjoy it to the fullest. And the moment you start thinking a lot about why you want to win it, you start focusing more on the result. That’s the time you start mounting undue pressure on yourself,” added Dhoni.