'The trophy doesn't just belong to team it belongs to nation'

MUMBAI: Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday recollected the "golden moment" after the triumphant win in the final of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and said that the prestigious trophy belonged to India, not just the team.

That day in 2011 also belonged to India legend Tendulkar, who finally got his hands on a trophy he'd been chasing for over two decades. It made India's pursuit of their first World Cup title in 28 years all the more daunting.

"2nd April 2011 was the best cricketing moment of my life. It's been 12 years of that golden moment. To me, that was the reason my journey started. An incredible experience and all I can say we were representing the nation. I feel the trophy belongs to the entire country and all the well-wishers of Indian cricket. Without their support and good wishes, things dont move forward. When we started our careers there were multiple guys around us to polish each of us and we all individuals got together as a team and it's something special. I feel it was a great team effort and like I said just does not just belong to the team it belongs to the entire nation," Sachin Tendulkar said at an event on Sunday.

Earlier on Sunday, Tendulkar, who played a vital part in India's title win, expressed happiness looking back at the "greatest moment of his life" and asked fans that where were they and how did they celebrate the win.

"12 years ago India lifted the World Cup...the greatest moment of my life! Where were you when this happened and how did you celebrate?" tweeted Tendulkar.

India defeated Sri Lanka in the final by six wickets in the summit clash at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. After batting first, Sri Lanka posted 274/6 in their 50 overs. An unbeaten century from Mahela Jayawardene (103*) and knocks from skipper Kumar Sangakkara (48), Nuwan Kulasekara (32) and Thisara Perera (22*) powered Lanka to a competitive total. Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan took two wickets each and Harbhajan Singh took one wicket.

Chasing 275, India lost Sehwag (0) and Tendulkar (18) early. But an 83-run stand between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli (35) revived India's chances. Gambhir went on to score 97 in 122 balls and had a 109-run stand for the fourth wicket with skipper MS Dhoni, who ended at an unbeaten 91* off 79 balls. Dhoni and Yuvraj (21*) had an unbeaten 54-run stand for the fifth wicket that guided Team India to their first World Cup title in 28 years.

Notably, India will be hosting the Cricket World Cup 2023 in its entirety, for the first time ever.