Sri Lanka star recalls biggest Gautam Gambhir 'regret' from India's 2011 World Cup final, match-winning six by MS Dhoni
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Sri Lanka star recalls biggest Gautam Gambhir 'regret' from India's 2011 World Cup final, match-winning six by MS Dhoni originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Former Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Kulasekara still regrets dropping Gautam Gambhir in the 2011 World Cup final.
- MS Dhoni's match-winning six off his bowling sealed India's title at the Wankhede.
- Kulasekara later played under Dhoni at CSK and admired his calm nature.
Nuwan Kulasekara recalls Gautam Gambhir 'regret' from India's 2011 World Cup final
Nuwan Kulasekara remains haunted by the defining moments of the 2011 World Cup final, a match in which he was on the wrong end of one of cricket's most iconic images. The former Sri Lanka pacer, now bowling coach of Lanka Premier League franchise Colombo Kaps, revisited the painful memories in a candid interview.
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Speaking exclusively to RevSportz at the team hotel in Kandy, Kulasekara reflected on a night that ended in heartbreak for Sri Lanka. India chased down 275 at the Wankhede Stadium on April 2, 2011, with Gautam Gambhir's 97 laying the platform before Dhoni finished the job in emphatic fashion.
For Kulasekara, the defeat still stings, not least because of a costly moment in the field involving the man who would top-score for India. He was refreshingly honest about the part he played in a result that went the hosts' way.
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Kulasekara pinpointed a dropped chance as a moment he cannot forget. He said:
"Yes, at one stage we definitely believed we could win. I dropped an important catch off Gambhir, and naturally there is regret."
"But these moments happen in big matches. Ben Stokes experienced something similar in the 2016 T20 World Cup final before going on to play a match-winning role in England's 2019 World Cup triumph."
But Kulasekara hasn't let these moments sour his memories. He believes such is the nature of the sport. He also reflected on the six that sealed India's win, which he hit off his own bowling. Kulasekara said, "In cricket, especially during the powerplay and the death overs, such things can happen to any bowler."
He continued, "I tried my best to dismiss him, but he still hit me for a six. The positive memory is that we came back and won the 2014 T20 World Cup in a similar fashion. That is how this beautiful game works." Ironically, that wasn't the end of the dance between Dhoni and Kulasekara. The next time the two met, it was in franchise cricket.
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Sharing a dressing room with Dhoni
Kulasekara ended up joining Chennai Super Kings and played under the very man (Dhoni) who had denied Sri Lanka a 2011 ODI World Cup title. What struck him most was Dhoni's refusal to dwell on that final.
"I joined Chennai Super Kings immediately after the World Cup, but Dhoni never spoke about that final. That shows the kind of person he is."
"He is incredibly calm and always focused on the present. For him, the past is over. His only concern was winning the next game. That is something I really admired about him," Kulasekara said.
Turning to the present, Kulasekara backed his countrymen to compete in the upcoming Test series against India, which begins in Galle on August 15. He said, "Playing at home in a World Test Championship series gives us the chance to show how competitive we are in Test cricket. I believe we can compete with them, especially because we are playing at home."
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Grace in defeat that time has not dulled
There is something quietly moving about Kulasekara's willingness to own his part in that final rather than bury it. Fifteen years on, he neither hides from the dropped catch nor the six, framing both as the inevitable cruelties of elite sport, a maturity that speaks well of the man.
His admiration for Dhoni adds a further layer to the tale. The captain who inflicted the deepest wound on Sri Lankan cricket became a figure Kulasekara came to respect at close quarters, a reminder that the game's fiercest rivalries often soften into mutual regard once the contest is done.
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