Sachin reveals what he told Kohli after Malinga dismissed him in 2011 WC final | Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar played six World Cups and it was only in his last tournament that he won the coveted trophy. The batting great had reached the twilight of his career by then and yet, he has said in the years since that the World Cup win remains the greatest moment of his storied career.

Famously, Tendulkar couldn’t play too much of a role in the final of that tournament that was played at his beloved Wankhede Stadium, home of the Mumbai team for whom he played in domestic cricket. The star-studded Sri Lankan side had set a target of 275 for India to chase with Mahela Jayawardene scoring an unbeaten 103 off 88 balls and India were given an early jolt when opener Virender Sehwag fell to Lasith Malinga off just the second ball of the innings. Tendulkar had opened with Sehwag and shared a 31-run stand with Gautam Gambhir, who would go on to become one of the heroes of the final, before falling to Malinga himself.

The moment came off the first ball of the seventh over. Tendulkar got an edge and Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara took the catch behind the stumps. The stadium was silenced as Tendulkar walked back having scored 18 in 14 balls. It was a young Virat Kohli who replaced him and Tendulkar had a little chat with him when they crossed near the boundary.

On Friday, Tendulkar revealed the brief bit of information that he had passed to Kohli. “Ab bhi ball thoda swing ho raha hai! (The ball is still swinging a little bit)” said Tendulkar in a tweet that he made in reply to a fan asking him what he had told Kohli at that moment. Kohli would go on to play a crucial role in resurrecting India’s chase, scoring 35 in 49 balls in an 83-run stand with Gambhir. Captain MS Dhoni came in to replace him and he shared a 109-run stand with Gambhir.

Gambhir fell on 97 off 122 balls after which Dhoni saw India home with Yuvraj Singh at the other end. The Indian skipper was unbeaten on 91 runs, famously hitting a six over long-on off the second ball of the 49th over to finish the chase and start the celebrations.