2011 World Cup Final Scorecard: India vs Sri Lanka Full Match Report

The 2011 World Cup Final scorecard reads: India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on April 2, 2011. Sri Lanka posted 274/6 in 50 overs behind Mahela Jayawardene’s unbeaten 103, and India chased it down at 277/4 in 48.2 overs, powered by Gautam Gambhir’s 97 and MS Dhoni’s unbeaten 91.

It remains the highest successful run chase in a men’s ODI World Cup final and the moment India ended a 28-year wait for a second world title-on home soil, no less. This breakdown covers the complete 2011 World Cup final scorecard: full batting and bowling figures for both innings, the playing XIs, the twice-taken toss, the key partnerships, and the tactical decisions-including Dhoni’s famous batting-order call-that actually decided the match.

2011 World Cup Final Scorecard: Result at a Glance

India won the 2011 World Cup final by 6 wickets, chasing down Sri Lanka’s 274/6 with 10 balls to spare, finishing at 277/4. MS Dhoni was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 91, and Yuvraj Singh took home Player of the Tournament honors.

Why This 2011 World Cup Final Scorecard Still Matters

The scoreline alone undersells the drama. India’s chase started disastrously-31/2 inside seven overs-before Gambhir and Dhoni rebuilt the innings from the ground up. Understanding this scorecard means understanding three separate phases: Sri Lanka’s slow-then-explosive batting effort, India’s shaky start, and the calculated middle-order recovery that won the trophy. Each phase gets its own breakdown below.

Playing XIs for the 2011 World Cup Final

India fielded Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni (captain), Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, and Sreesanth. Sri Lanka fielded Tharanga, Dilshan, Sangakkara (captain), Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Kapugedera, Perera, Kulasekara, Malinga, Randiv, and Muralitharan.

The Selection Call That Shaped Sri Lanka’s Bowling Attack

Sri Lanka left out both Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath, two spinners who had troubled England and New Zealand earlier in the tournament, in favor of Suraj Randiv as the second spin option. It’s one of the most debated calls in the history of this fixture-more on that below, once the Sri Lanka innings numbers are on the table.

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The Toss That Was Redone Twice

The 2011 World Cup final toss had to be conducted twice because match referee Jeff Crowe could not hear Kumar Sangakkara’s call over the crowd noise at Wankhede Stadium. Sangakkara called heads correctly on both attempts and chose to bat first.

Dhoni flipped the coin, Sangakkara called it, and the noise from a packed stadium swallowed the answer completely-nobody, including the officials, caught what was called. Sangakkara later explained it in his own words: “I remember calling on the toss, and then ‘Mahi’ wasn’t sure what I had called. He said: ‘Did you call tails?’ I said, ‘No, I called heads.'” Rather than dispute the outcome, Dhoni agreed to a re-toss, which Sangakkara also won, again on heads, and again opted to bat.

Why the Toss Mattered

Batting first at Wankhede in a day-night final meant Sri Lanka set the target under clear conditions, while India would chase under lights, with dew potentially aiding their bowlers early and their batsmen later. It’s a small procedural footnote, but one that genuinely shaped the tactical framing of the entire match.

Sri Lanka Innings: 274/6 in 50 Overs

Sri Lanka scored 274/6, anchored by Mahela Jayawardene’s unbeaten 103 off 88 balls, after Zaheer Khan’s opening burst had restricted them to 60/2 through 17 overs. A late surge of 63 runs in the closing Powerplay pushed the total from modest to genuinely competitive.

Zaheer Khan opened with three consecutive maidens and finished his first spell at 5-3-6-1, the kind of new-ball control that briefly threatened to strangle the innings entirely. Sri Lanka’s Powerplay score of just 31/1 was their lowest ten-over return of the entire 2011 World Cup. Jayawardene walked out at 60/2 in the 17th over and methodically rebuilt, reaching his century off just 84 deliveries with 13 boundaries, without ever needing to force the tempo artificially.

Sri Lanka Batting Scorecard

Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-60, 3-122, 4-179, 5-182, 6-248

India’s Bowling Figures vs Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s Key Partnerships

Sri Lanka’s finishing burst-63 runs in the closing batting Powerplay, driven by Kulasekara’s 32 and Thisara Perera’s blistering 22 off just 9 balls-is what turned a middling total into a defendable one. Without that final-overs acceleration, Sri Lanka’s total likely stays under 250.

Why Sri Lanka’s Spin Selection Still Gets Debated

Sri Lanka’s decision to omit Mendis and Herath left them thinner on spin options once Sangakkara and Jayawardene had stabilized the innings. Mendis had performed well through the tournament overall, though he reportedly carried a poor historical record against Indian batsmen, which is said to have influenced the team management’s call. It wasn’t the sole reason Sri Lanka fell short in the chase, but it remains one of the most re-litigated tactical decisions of the entire final-Randiv finished 0/43 off 9 overs, and Muttiah Muralitharan closed his 19-year international career wicketless in his farewell appearance.

India Innings: 277/4 in 48.2 Overs

India lost both openers cheaply-Sehwag for a second-ball duck and Tendulkar for 18-before an 83-run third-wicket stand between Gambhir and Kohli, followed by a match-defining 109-run partnership between Gambhir and Dhoni, completed the chase with 10 balls in hand.

At 31/2 inside seven overs, India’s title hopes looked shaky. Lasith Malinga had removed Sehwag second ball and then had Tendulkar caught behind for 18-a burst that briefly silenced the Wankhede crowd. What followed determined the outcome of the entire tournament.

India Batting Scorecard

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-31, 3-114, 4-223

Sri Lanka’s Bowling Figures vs India

Key Partnerships in India’s Chase

Key Match Timeline: 2011 World Cup Final

The chase turned on four moments-Sehwag’s early dismissal, Tendulkar‘s fall, Kohli’s dismissal at 114/3 that brought Dhoni to the crease, and Gambhir’s departure at 223/4 that left Dhoni to finish the job.

• 0.2 overs: Sehwag lbw Malinga-India 0/1
• 6.1 overs: Tendulkar caught behind off Malinga-India 31/2
• 21.4 overs: Kohli caught and bowled by Dilshan-India 114/3
• 41.2 overs: Gambhir bowled by Perera for 97-India 223/4
• 48.2 overs: Dhoni hits Kulasekara for six-India win, 277/4

Required Run Rate Progression

India needed 5.50 runs per over at the start of the chase. That climbed briefly above 6.5 after the early wickets, dropped back under 5.5 once Gambhir and Kohli settled, and never rose above manageable territory again once the Gambhir–Dhoni partnership took hold.

Why Did Dhoni Bat Ahead of Yuvraj Singh?

Dhoni promoted himself to number five ahead of Yuvraj Singh because he had faced Sri Lanka’s off-spin trio-Muttiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv, and part-timer Tillakaratne Dilshan-extensively during Chennai Super Kings nets, and a left-right combination alongside the left-handed Gambhir was expected to disrupt Sri Lanka’s spin lines.

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India were 114/3 when Dhoni walked out, needing 161 more runs. Dhoni later explained his own thinking directly: “The reason was simple, it was very experience-driven. If you look at the Sri Lankan bowling at that time, Murli sir was there, Suraj Randiv was there, and Dilshan was there in the part-timers-all three off-spinners… it becomes a little easier to play off-spinners for righties.” Sachin Tendulkar, who reportedly suggested the switch to coach Gary Kirsten, confirmed the same reasoning years later, and Muralitharan himself admitted he had anticipated the move: “I knew Dhoni will come before Yuvraj because he knows how to play me well.”

The Partnership That Won the Final

Dhoni and Gambhir added 109 runs for the fourth wicket-the highest partnership by an Indian pair across all three World Cup final appearances India has made (1983, 2003, 2011). Once Gambhir fell for 97 in the 41st over, Dhoni took over completely, finishing the chase with successive boundaries off Malinga through midwicket before closing it out with the six that gets replayed every World Cup cycle since.

Records Set in the 2011 World Cup Final

India’s target of 275 was the highest successfully chased in a men’s ODI World Cup final at the time, and India became the first nation to win a World Cup final on home soil.

• India’s chase of 275 stands as the highest successful run chase in a men’s ODI World Cup final, surpassing the previous benchmark set by Australia in 1996.
• India became the first host nation to win a Cricket World Cup final on home soil.
• The Gambhir–Dhoni stand of 109 is the highest fourth-wicket partnership by an Indian pair in a World Cup final.
• Muttiah Muralitharan finished his international career wicketless in his farewell match-a rare blank for a bowler who took 800 Test and 534 ODI wickets.
• Yuvraj Singh’s tournament tally of 362 runs and 15 wickets earned him Player of the Tournament, later revealed to have come while he was battling an undiagnosed illness that required treatment shortly after the tournament.

What This 2011 World Cup Final Scorecard Means for Cricket History

India’s win ended a 28-year gap since 1983 and gave Sachin Tendulkar, playing his sixth and final World Cup, the trophy that had eluded him for two decades-his teammates famously carried him on a lap around Wankhede afterward. For Dhoni, the innings became a defining reference point for his captaincy style: a personal, matchup-driven decision made under maximum pressure and backed up with the bat when it mattered most.

For Sri Lanka, it marked their second final loss in three World Cups, and the decision to leave out Mendis and Herath remains one of the most re-litigated selection calls in the tournament’s history. This 2011 World Cup final scorecard, more than a decade on, is still the most-searched cricket scorecard in India-a reflection of how deeply that single chase reshaped the sport’s national narrative.

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