India's 2011 ODI World Cup Win, The Night That Changed International Cricket and Bookmarked New Era of Domination

In the words of the great Justin Langer, former player and Head Coach of the Australian cricket team, bizarre things happen in India. Cricket is a religion, and the eleven men representing the country on 22 yards become immortals and are no less than demigods. On April 2, 2011, the Indian cricket team, led by MS Dhoni and coached by Proteas great Gary Kirsten, carved a golden chapter in the history of Indian cricket. The 'Men in Blue' outplayed neighbors and familiar foes Sri Lanka in the night of the ODI World Cup final.

'Dhoni finishes in style, a magnificent strike into the crowd, India lift the World Cup after 28 years and it is an Indian captain, who has been absolutely magnificent in the night of the finals,' we can hear these lines in the legendary voice of Ravi Shastri, who had the honor of calling the final moments of India's world triumph, 14 years back. But the victory meant so much more, not only to the Indian fans, but also to the sport and the people who follow it, live and breathe it.

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The Start Of The MS Dhoni Era

Unfortunately, the Indian players of the 2011 World Cup-winning side never played as a unit again after that historic night. Many complained that they did not get to defend the title even in 2015. The players also went on to say that it wasn't one six that sealed the World Cup and there was a lot of hard work from everybody. But in hindsight, one can't ignore the role of a captain in cricket who runs the errands when his side is bowling.

By 2011, MS Dhoni had already ended up winning the T20 World Cup as the captain of the Indian team. But those were the days when T20 cricket wasn't valued that much as compared to Test and ODI cricket. India had solid batting which included the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina. But their bowling attack, barring Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, did not stack up.

MS Dhoni, who is considered a bright cricketing mind, was below average with the bat in his hands throughout the entire World Cup, but the manner in which he rotated his bowlers, set the field, and read the game was sheer genius. The 2011 ODI World Cup win cemented his legacy as one of the greatest captains to have ever led Team India. Little did anybody know that he would take his legacy even further by winning the Champions Trophy in 2013.

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The End Of Australia's Domination

Ricky Ponting was leading Australia for the last time in an ODI World Cup. The Aussies were the defending champions and Punter already had three ODI World Cups in his kitty, one as a player and two while leading the side. The Aussies had ruled international cricket until then, but after the retirement of legends such as Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, and Shane Warne, they weren't the same side anymore.

Of course, the quality was still there and they were highly skilled, but they were no match for India in that World Cup. India were certainly eyeing revenge for the 2003 ODI World Cup final. Yuvraj Singh's celebration after hitting the winning runs testifies to the fact. India knocked Australia out of the Quarter-Finals of the 2011 ODI World Cup, and that was just the start of India claiming Australia's seat at the Head of the Table, as the most powerful and dominant side in white-ball cricket.