My proudest moment, says Tendulkar

MUMBAI: Sachin Tendulkar said Saturday's World Cup triumph was the proudest moment of his life as India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to capture the "ultimate" prize after a gap of 28 years.

"I couldn't have asked for more," said Tendulkar, as his teammates carried him on their shoulders for a victory lap before adoring fans at the Wankhede Stadium.

"Winning the World Cup is the ultimate thing. It is the proudest moment of my life. It shows it is never too late," he said referring to India's only previous World Cup win in 1983.

"I thank my teammates who were fabulous. I could not really hold back my tears. These are happy tears so I don't mind crying."

Tendulkar made just 18 with the bat as he missed out on scoring his 100th international century.

Young star Virat Kohli said the victory was a fitting tribute to Tendulkar.

"This goes out to all the people of India. Tendulkar has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It was time we carried him."

Gautam Gambhir, who played a key role with the bat in making 97 off 122 balls, said the win was a gift to his great teammate from the entire squad.

"All credit for this win should go to Tendulkar. We were all playing for him, this trophy is for him."

Tendulkar, on his part, thanked each of his team-mates and the support staff including polar explorer Mike Horn.

"I would like to thank the support staff especially Mike Horn who joined us at the start of the tournament and was there for our last couple of games.

"He worked on the mental side and has helped us deal with the expectations and pressure.

"The team stuck together in the rough phases and proved people wrong who doubted our ability. Self-belief has been always there but in the last two years, we have been very consistent.

"It's been great honour to be part of this team. Thanks to (coach) Gary (Kirsten) and Paddy Upton (mental conditioning expert)."

Sonia surprises cricket fans, joins the World Cup party

NEW DELHI: Just after midnight, traffic at the ITO crossing came to a standstill when the crowds spotted Sonia Gandhi waving to them from her Tata Safari. She reached out to the people, who surged forward to shake hand with her, and congratulated them for India winning the World Cup. ( Read: Frenzied celebrations across the country ) ( Read: Unlike in Chandigarh, charter flights buzz missing in city ) ( Read: India's cup of joy spills on to Mumbai streets )

The crowd went into raptures and what would have been a brief stopover stretched to about half-an-hour. Sonia was wearing a white sari and two other cars were escorting her. But any security, if present, was unobtrusive. ( Read: Fans cheer at halls and malls ) ( Read: Even pranksters had a field day at Wankhede ) ( Read: More play than work at offices ) ( Read: Lankans miss the home crowds ) ( Read: It's Indiaaah all the way )

People were busy clicking her photographs from their mobiles. "It was unbelievable. I was just passing by and saw a long jam at ITO chowk. Then I spotted her in her car, waving to the crowds. For a moment, I could not believe it was Sonia Gandhi. But finally, I managed to met her and shook hands too," said Ashish Chawla, a resident of Kailash Colony.

"Congratulations to everybody. We have won," Sonia was saying to everyone. While leaving, she told the bikers who were overexcited to see her, "Drive safe and all the best." Long after she left, the message seemed to have been lost on the bikers. They began doing stunts at the crossing, holding up the traffic and causing a nuisance.

Fans disappointed as Tendulkar out for 18

MUMBAI: India fans hoping Sachin Tendulkar would make his hundredth international century in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka on Saturday were stunned when he fell for just 18.

Tendulkar, on his Wankhede Stadium home ground, was caught behind by Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara off fast bowler Lasith Malinga to the despair of a bulk of a 33,000 capacity crowd.

His exit left India 31 for two in reply to Sri Lanka's 274 for six and meant Tendulkar's dream of winning a first World Cup title, at the sixth attempt, was now in the hands of his team-mates.

Jayawardene hits century in World Cup final

MUMBAI: A World Cup final many India fans hoped would witness Sachin Tendulkar score his hundredth international hundred saw Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene beat him to the punch with a brilliant century.

Jayawardene top-scored with 103 not out in Sri Lanka's total of 274 for six at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

He became the second Sri Lankan after Aravinda de Silva, and the sixth batsman overall to score hundred in a World Cup final.

It was a far cry from the World Cup final of four years ago where Jayawardene was dismissed for just 19 as Australia triumphed in Barbados.

Jayawardene, 33, reached his century in superb style with two successive boundaries off Zaheer Khan.

First he cut the left-arm quick behind high behind square on the offside before next ball striking a brilliant boundary over mid-off to go to the landmark in 84 balls with 13 fours.

Jayawardene, who came in at 60 for two, has long had the enviable ability to make runs quickly without seeming to make a great effort.

He is also capable of great feats of batting concentration as he showed while making 374 against South Africa at Colombo in 2006 where he shared a Test record stand for any wicket of 624 with current skipper Kumar Sangakkara.
Zaheer, who began with three successive maidens, was unable to contain Jayawardene in the closing stages.

India lift World Cup after 28 years

MUMBAI: India became the World Cup champions after 28 years, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in an interesting final of the tenth World Cup here at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

Chasing a challenging target of 275, India completed their long-awaited victory, with a huge six by captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni, with ten balls to spare in the day-night final of the mega event.

It was for the first time that a host country won the final of the World Cup and India also became the first Asian country to become the champions twice.

India were the third country to lift this title two or more times after Australia (four) and the West Indies (two).

The architects of India’s historic win were Gautam Gambhir, who scored 97 off 122 balls with nine boundaries, and Dhoni, who remained unbeaten on 91, made from 79 balls with eight fours and two sixes.

India's start was disastrous when Virender Sehwag was lbw for nought second ball to Lasith Malinga.

Later, Sachin Tendulkar also departed after a brief, 14-ball innings of 18 runs when he steered fast bowler Lasith Malinga through the off-side only to be caught behind by Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara to leave India 31 for two.

Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene reached his 14th one-day international century in 84 balls with 13 fours.

He remained not out on 103, made from 88 balls as Sri Lanka finished on 274 for six in their 50 overs after captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and elected to bat first in the All-Asia final of the mega event.

Jayawardene secured the unwanted record of becoming the first man to score a hundred in a World Cup final yet finish on the losing side.

All five previous tons in the fixture -- by Clive Lloyd (West Indies, 1975), Vivian Richards (West Indies, 1979), Aravinda de Silva (Sri Lanka 1996), Ricky Ponting (Australia, 2003) and Adam Gilchrist (Australia 2007) had been made in winning causes.

India's left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan dried up the flow of runs with three successive maiden overs at the start and his two wickets made him the tournament's leading bowler alongside Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi with 21 wickets each.

Ind vs SL: Mumbai All Set For Tendulkar's Dream Final

Mumbai: A billion hearts will beat for Sachin Tendulkar as India bid for their second World Cup title in the all-Asian final against buoyant Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Tendulkar returns to his home turf at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai determined to add the only silverware missing from the collection of the most celebrated cricketer of the modern era.

The Indian star, who turns 38 next month, holds almost all coveted batting records, but not even his individual brilliance could win the ultimate prize in a team sport like cricket.

In five previous appearances in cricket's showpiece event, Tendulkar helped India reach the semifinal at home in 1996 and finish runners-up to Australia in 2003 in South Africa.
Indian MS Dhoni and Sri Lanka Kumar Sangakkara pose with the World Cup on the eve of the final in Mumbai.

When India won the World Cup under Kapil Dev in 1983, Tendulkar was 10 years old, but five of his current team-mates - Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel - were not even born.

Playing in his sixth and possibly last World Cup, a record he shares with Pakistan great Javed Miandad, Tendulkar has led from the front to lift India into the final.

Tendulkar's lucky 85 in Wednesday's semifinal against Pakistan, when he was dropped four times and survived close leg-before and stumping decisions, suggests he was destined to play the final.

Both teams have injury concerns.

Sri Lanka appear to be the worst hit with star bowler Muttiah Muralitharan struggling to recover from hamstring and knee injuries and all-rounder Angelo Mathews down with a side strain.

Kumar Sangakkara's men have flown in veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas and off-spinner Suraj Randiv to cover for the injured duo, but they are still not officially eligible to play.

Muralitharan, the world's leading Test and one-day bowler who turns 38 next month, will leave international cricket after Saturday's final.

Indian seamer Ashish Nehra is almost certainly ruled out after sustaining a fracture in his right hand during the semifinal win over Pakistan in Mohali on Wednesday.

India may not ask for a stand-by since off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and seamer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth are waiting in the wings to take over from Nehra.

Sri Lanka marched into their second successive final after losing just one match out of eight in the tournament.

Sangakkara's men, playing at home in Colombo, thrashed England by 10 wickets in the quarter-final before delivering a five-wicket blow to New Zealand in the semifinal.

Sri Lanka, like India, are also seeking their second World Cup title after winning in 1996 when Arjuna Ranatunga's team stunned Australia in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Dilshan has led a power-packed display by the batsmen to become the tournament's leading scorer, while Sangakkara has notched up 417 runs and young opener Upul Tharanga has made 393 runs.

Sri Lanka enjoy a formidable bowling attack with sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga (11 wickets) and unorthodox spinner Ajantha Mendis (7 wickets) complimenting off-spinner Muralitharan, who has 15.

Indian seamer Zaheer Khan, who will also play on his home ground in Mumbai, goes into the final with 19 wickets, second behind Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi's tally of 21.

Sri Lanka have prevailed in recent one-dayers against India, winning six of the 10 matches played last year in Dhaka, Harare, Bulawayo and Dambulla.

But India have won five of seven matches against the Islanders on home soil over the last five years.

India will be playing at the refurbished 33,000-capacity Wankhede stadium for the first time, while Sri Lanka know what awaits them having beaten New Zealand by 112 runs in a league match at the ground on March 18.

Teams from

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Munaf Patel.

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Mahela Jayawardene, Upul Tharanga, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

Pitch & conditions
The well-rolled pitch with even bounce should provide entertaining cricket with both bat and ball. The match will begin in hot weather but the evening sea breeze will cool temperatures. More teams batting first (11-6) have emerged victorious at the Wankhede.

Stats & trivia

• Both teams finished second in their respective groups. Sri Lanka lost to Pakistan and had a washed out tie against Australia. While India lost to South Africa and tied against England.
• Besides the hiccup against Pakistan, Sri Lanka beat Canada by 210 runs, Kenya by nine wickets, Zimbabwe by 139 runs and New Zealand by 112 runs. They thumped England by 10 wickets in the last eight before defeating New Zealand again in the semifinals by five wickets.
• India have had a more bumpy ride as they enjoyed two comfortable wins -- beating Bangladesh by 87 runs and West Indies by 80 runs -- were stretched before beating second tier teams Ireland and Netherlands by five wickets, tied with England and suffered a three-wicket loss to South Africa. However, a five-wicket win over four-time champions Australia and a 29-run win against Pakistan in the knockout rounds will have boosted them.
• As the Indians have been tested, they are likely to withstand pressure better than Sri Lanka, whose middle order, till the semifinals, had faced a total of 29 balls in six games.
• Sri Lanka will have to curb the rate of run flow at the top of the batting order with Sehwag scoring at a strike rate of 123.37.

Head to head

• Total Match - 128
• India Won - 67
• Sri Lanka - 50
• No Result - 11
• First match - Jun 16-18, 1979, Manchester, Sri Lanka won by 47 runs
• Last match - Tri series Final, Aug 28, 2010, Dambulla Sri Lanka won by 74-runs

Match facts
Saturday April 2, 2011 (day/night)
Start time 14:30 local (09:00 GMT)

Angelo Mathews Ruled Out of World Cup Final

Mumbai: Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of Saturday's World Cup final against India after injuring his right thigh muscle in the semifinal against New Zealand. In a statement on Friday, the International Cricket Council said it had approved off-spinner Suraj Randiv as a replacement for Mathews in the Sri Lanka squad. The 1996 champions are also monitoring the fitness of spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who is suffering from a hamstring injury and a bruised knee. Muralitharan, the world record holder for test and one-day wickets, will retire from all international cricket after Saturday's match. India left-arm pace bowler Ashish Nehra is unlikely to play after fracturing the middle finger on his right hand during the semifinal against New Zealand. "Ashish is most likely to be ruled out," captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni told a news conference at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. Asked about his bowling options in the probable absence of Nehra, Dhoni indicated he might be replaced by another pace bowler. "The Mumbai pitch has pace and bounce," he said. "If there's reverse swing, then a seamer can have an impact on the game. If you have three spinners then you don't have that room to manoeuvre."