MS Dhoni reveals why he promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh in 2011 World Cup final 

Who can forget that extraordinary evening of April 2, 2011, and the jubilant scenes at the Wankhede stadium! Team India under 'Captain Cool' Mahendra Singh Dhoni won their second ICC Cricket World Cup title, 28 years after claiming their first crown under the legendary all-rounder, Kapil Dev. Co-hosts India and Sri Lanka faced-off in the finals at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium. Former Sri Lankan skipper, Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and opted to bat first on a hot and humid April afternoon.

Local boy, Zaheer Khan was at his very best initially, bowled three maiden overs in his very first spell while picking up the wicket of the opener, Upul Tharanga. MS Dhoni has revealed the reason behind promoting himself up the order during the high-voltage 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final clash against neighbours, Sri Lanka. Mahela Jayawardene, who scored an astonishing century (103* off 88 balls) was well contributed by Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Nuwan Kulasekara. In the end, Thisara Perea's cameo took the Lankan total to 274-6 in 50 overs to set India a challenging 275 runs to win the World Cup. In reply, India lost Virender Sehwag (0 off 2) in the very second delivery of their innings to Lasith Malinga. After Sachin's departure, Kohli arrived at the crease and contributed 35 off 49 balls before getting out to Dilshan.

MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir shared a World Cup-winning fourth wicket partnership

While many expected Man of the tournament, Yuvraj Singh to come out to bat at this juncture, it was skipper MS Dhoni who entered the ground much to the fans' surprise. Dhoni promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj at number 5 and joined Gautam Gambhir (97 off 122) at the crease. The Duo added 109 runs for the fourth wicket and ensured India's chase was well on course. After Gambhir's dismissal, Yuvraj joined Dhoni and helped India chase down the target with 10 balls to spare (won by six wickets) to clinch their second World Cup title. Dhoni's six off Nuwan Kulasekara when four runs were needed off 11 deliveries will be etched in the memories of every Indian cricket fan forever.

#Thala spilling the secret behind the success of the promotion up the order in 2011 Final! #Yellove it is! #WhistlePodu 💛🦁 pic.twitter.com/ypcjhW6Mu6

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) November 22, 2018

Seven years on, Dhoni opened up on why he promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj in that high-octane clash at Mumbai.

“I knew most of the bowlers of Sri Lanka as they were part of the Chennai Super Kings earlier. I promoted myself because Muralitharan was bowling at that time. I have played him a lot in the CSK nets and I was confident that I will be able to score runs freely against him. That was one of the main reasons why I pushed myself up the order during the final,” said Dhoni

While Muralitharan represented Dhoni's men in the first three IPL editions(2008-2010), all-rounder, Thisara Perera played only the third edition (2010) for the Men in Yellow. Two other players who were in the World Cup final XI- Suraj Randiv and Nuwan Kulasekara were bought by CSK only during the 2011 IPL auctions. Now that Dhoni has revealed the reason, the mystery has been solved. And who else could crack the seven-year-long mystery if not the man himself!