#3 Promoting himself in the 2011 World Cup final
Dhoni revelled in finals of tournaments and knew how to get the better of his opponents in finals. India had matched all expectations by marching to the finals of the 2011 World Cup and had tough opponents in Sri Lanka at Mumbai.
Lanka had piled up a target of 275, a tough one in the finals of a tournament, and India had started poorly, losing Sehwag and Tendulkar in quick time. While Gambhir and a young Kohli withstood for some time, the latter fell to a brilliant caught and bowled by Tillakaratne Dilshan.
Yuvraj Singh had had a terrific tournament up until then at no. 5 and was expected to walk in at the fall of Kohli's wicket. But Dhoni sprung a surprise by promoting himself up and ahead of Yuvraj.
He was heavily criticised in the commentary box for the move because Yuvraj was in the form of his life and Dhoni had done little with the bat in the tournament. But with Muralitharan, an off-spinner in the midst of a fine spell, Dhoni deemed it was better to keep Yuvraj, who is not a good player of off-spin.
The move turned out to be historic as Dhoni led India to their second World Cup win after 1983. He remained unbeaten, smashing a huge six over long-on off Kulasekara to complete the win.
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