To win in Indo-Pak final is special: Yuvraj Singh

It’s been 10 years now but Indians still cannot forget that night. Television images of a disconsolate Pakistani batsman Misbah-ul-Haq; contrasted with the euphoria of fans, not to forget the team, has been etched into every Indian’s memory. MS Dhoni and his band of “outsiders” — this team included none of the greats: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman — had achieved what this country had been wanting for so long, a World Cup triumph.

Looking back on this journey, Yuvraj Singh believes that an intrinsic part of the team’s success in the tournament was the fact that they had failed before in major tournaments and expectations were low. “The 2003 (50 over final when India lost to Australia) and 2007 (50 over World Cup final) was an absolute nightmare, we were literally in hiding after that. After that, to come out victorious was special and that too in an India-Pakistan final, there cannot be a better way to win.”

Even after the victory, Yuvraj says that neither nor his teammates realised the enormity of what they had done.

Recalling the now iconic bus ride from Mumbai airport to Wankhede stadium, he said, “When we landed in Mumbai, it was raining a little …read more