MCA to create memorial of MS Dhoni’s iconic 2011 World Cup-winning six

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will create a memorial of the iconic six MS Dhoni hit to seal victory for India in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka. The memorial, when complete, is likely to be inaugurated by the legend himself.

India recently (April 2) celebrated 12 years of their 2011 World Cup win. The Men in Blue beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final of the tournament at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Dhoni, who was the Player of the Final for his 91* off 79, finished off the game by launching Lankan medium-pacer Nuwan Kulasekara for a maximum. MCA president Amol Kale confirmed to Cricbuzz after a meeting of its Apex Council in Mumbai on Monday, April 3:

"We will install a memorial at the very place where the six had landed in the stands. It is difficult to identify exactly on which seat the ball had landed. We have identified three-four seats and we will install the memorial at that very spot.”

Speaking about the move, MCA secretary Ajinkya Naik said:

"It would be a fitting tribute to MS Dhoni's match-winning innings, and we hope it will inspire many youngsters to follow the footsteps of Captain Cool in cricket.”

The report added that Dhoni will be felicitated by the MCA during the IPL 2023 match between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 8. The memorial will be inaugurated by Dhoni himself once it's complete.

The MCA also recently revealed that they're building a statue of cricket great Sachin Tendulkar at the Wankhede Stadium. Tendulkar was a member of the Dhoni-led squad that captured the ODI World Cup in 2011.

---

MS Dhoni revisits ‘best feeling’ from 2011 World Cup final

In an event to mark the 12th anniversary of the 2011 World Cup win, Dhoni opened up on his favourite moment from the final against Sri Lanka, and it wasn’t the match-winning six.

Speaking to host Sanjana Ganesan and former Australian cricketer Mike Hussey, Dhoni said:

"The best feeling was 15-20 minutes (before the winning moment). The stadium started to sing Vande Mataram. That atmosphere I feel is very difficult to recreate - maybe in this (upcoming 2023) World Cup, there is a similar scenario, once the stadium, the fans start contributing."

“You know, it’s a very difficult (atmosphere) one to replicate. But it can only be replicated if the occasion is similar to that (in 2011), and there are like 40, 50 or 60,000 people who are singing. And at the same time, I wanted to get done with it. We knew that we will win this from here, and it was very difficult for us to lose."

Gautam Gambhir top-scored for India in the 2011 World Cup final, contributing 97 off 122 as the hosts chased down a target of 275 in 48.2 overs.