The final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup was played between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday 2 April 2011. India won the match by six wickets to win their second World Cup title after the 1983 tournament and became the third team to have won the title more than once, after Australia (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007) and the West Indies (1975 and 1979). India became the first country to win Cricket World Cup in their own country.

Both teams had progressed through three stages to reach the final. India had won all but two matches to that point, losing to South Africa and tying with England in the group stage. Sri Lanka had won all but two matches to that point, losing to Pakistan and a no result against Australia in the group stage. Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara chose to bat first after winning the toss. The team scored slowly until the 17th over when they lost both their openers. Sangakkara added 62 runs with Mahela Jayawardene before being dismissed for 48 runs. Although wickets kept falling at one end, Jayawardene scored 103 runs in 88 balls; he was involved in a partnership of 66 runs with Thisara Perera. The pair took Sri Lanka's total to 274 runs at the close of the innings.

In reply, India lost their opener Virender Sehwag to the second ball of the innings, out LBW by Lasith Malinga. Sachin Tendulkar, too, got out quickly. The next set of batsmen, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, added 83 runs in 15 overs before the latter got out in the 22nd over. India captain MS Dhoni, promoting himself up the order, joined Gambhir and they both added 109 runs, an Indian record in a World Cup final. Gambhir got out for 97 runs in the 42nd over. India chased down the total and won the match by six wickets in the 49th over. Dhoni was declared the "man of the match" for scoring 91 runs, while his compatriot Yuvraj Singh was awarded the "man of the tournament".

The match was watched by about 33,000 spectators at the venue and about 135 million viewers on television in India. The President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa, a known cricket enthusiast, announced he would attend the match along with his sons. Following this, the Indian President Pratibha Patil also announced her decision to attend the match.

The match was the tenth World Cup final and the second final to be hosted by India, after the 1987 final held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. It was the first time that two Asian teams had faced each other in an ODI World Cup final. The 2011 final was the first to feature two teams from the same continent, and the first time that two co-hosts contested the final. This was the second time in World Cup history that a host nation won the final and the first time to win on their home ground.

India made their third appearance in a World Cup final. Previously, they won the final in 1983, and lost in 2003. Sri Lanka appeared in their third World Cup final; breakthrough winners against Australia in 1996 they finished as runners up (also to Australia) in the previous World Cup in 2007. Prior to this match, India and Sri Lanka had met each other seven times in World Cup history with Sri Lanka ahead with four wins and two defeats and one game ending in a no-result. In One Day Internationals, India led Sri Lanka with 75 victories against 52 victories for Sri Lanka, while 11 matches had ended with no result.

Road to the final

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka qualified for the knockouts with a second-place finish in Group A. They won four of their six games, suffered a defeat against Pakistan and the match against Australia was washed out. Being level on points with Australia, they were placed second in the group due to their better net run rate.

Sri Lanka had clinically demolished England in the quarter final, defeating them by 10 wickets. Both the Sri Lankan openers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Warushavithana Upul Tharanga made unbeaten centuries and put up a world-record stand for the first wicket in a World Cup. The New Zealand semi-final was more keenly contested, but was still won with relative ease by Sri Lanka, and hence they entered their second consecutive World Cup final after 2007. The matches showcased the effective unconventional bowling of pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, restrictive fielding, and the batting prowess of the Sri Lankan top order.

India

India were drawn in Group B where they finished second behind South Africa. They managed wins in four of their six games, lost one against South Africa while their game against England was a high scoring tie.

Both of India's knockout matches were high-pressure contests. Australia was a strong team and the defending champions, and India had to give a very good performance to restrict Australia to 260 and then successfully chase down the target even as wickets fell regularly. India and their semi-final opponents, Pakistan, were historical rivals, and there was immense public pressure on both teams with the match attended by the Prime Ministers of both countries. India batted first and ultimately defeated Pakistan by 29 runs.

Team composition India largely retained the same team it had in the semi-final against Pakistan, with just one change. Ashish Nehra, left-arm medium pacer, had suffered a finger fracture while fielding in that match, and he was replaced by another pacer, Sreesanth. India was widely rated as having the strongest batting line-up in the tournament, and chose to back this strength throughout the campaign by playing seven batsmen and four bowlers. Due to Yuvraj Singh performing well with both bat and ball in the tournament, India could afford to play with only four specialist bowlers. Yuvraj bowled his full quota of 10 overs in many matches, including the semi-final against Pakistan. Among the four bowling slots, Zaheer Khan was the pace spearhead supported in most matches by Munaf Patel, while Harbhajan Singh was the regular off-spinner. The fourth slot was taken by different bowlers in different matches, including Sreesanth, Nehra, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, or off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The captain had chosen Nehra over Ashwin in the match against Pakistan also. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had then said he preferred having three seamers because it gave him more options. He already had proven spinners in Harbhajan and Yuvraj, and could call upon many other Indian players who can bowl part-time spin (including Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, and Virender Sehwag).

Sri Lanka made four changes to their side from the semi-final. All-rounder Angelo Mathews had suffered a torn quadriceps and could not play. Sri Lanka knew the Indians' strength was batting, and thus they needed to take wickets to put them under pressure. This led to their choosing a full complement of bowlers. Spin bowler Ajantha Mendis had performed well throughout the tournament, but he had a poor record against India in pre-World Cup clashes and was not chosen for the final. Spinner Rangana Herath was also dropped. Off-spinner Suraj Randiv and batsman Chamara Kapugedera were flown in from Sri Lanka to strengthen the side. Seamers Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera, who had played matches in the earlier group stage, were drafted into the team. Legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was carrying minor injuries, but was retained. He had announced that he would retire from One Day International cricket after the World Cup, so this was his last match. The semi-final held at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was his last ODI match on home soil, and there he had been carried around the stadium, perched on his teammates' shoulders, on a lap of honour after that match.

Match details

Match officials The on-field umpires were Simon Taufel of Australia and Aleem Dar of Pakistan, with Ian Gould being the third (TV) umpire. All of these umpires were highly rated; Taufel had previously won 5 ICC Umpire of the Year awards, while Dar had won two. Taufel had never been able to officiate in a World Cup final because Australia had been qualifying for the finals in the last four editions. Jeff Crowe was the match referee and Steve Davis the reserve umpire.

On-field umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and Simon Taufel (Aus) TV umpire: Ian Gould (Eng) Reserve umpire: Steve Davis (Aus) Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)

Toss A controversy developed when Kumar Sangakkara called the toss. The toss came up as heads, but the match referee Jeff Crowe did not hear the call over the crowd. It was decided that there would be a re-toss. Sangakkara called heads as the coin was spun the second time. He won the re-toss and decided to bat.

Sri Lankan innings

Sri Lanka started the innings slowly, constrained by good bowling from Zaheer Khan and committed fielding from Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, and Virat Kohli inside the 30-yard circle. Zaheer began with three consecutive maidens and the wicket of Upul Tharanga, conceding only six runs in his five-over spell. Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled by Harbhajan Singh when a delivery carried on to the stumps after deflecting off his gloves. Captain Kumar Sangakkara came in after Tharanga's dismissal, and was building a solid foundation with Dilshan before the latter was dismissed. Mahela Jayawardene came to the crease when Sri Lanka were 60/2 in the 17th over. Sangakkara and Mahela went about the task of consolidating the innings, but eventually Sangakkara was caught behind by Dhoni at 48. New batsman Thilan Samaraweera was adjudged not out by the umpire when a ball hit his thigh pad off the bowling of Yuvraj Singh. The Indians decided to review the decision and he was ultimately given out. Chamara Kapugedera, who was playing his first World Cup match, was caught off a deceptive slower ball by Zaheer Khan. Jayawardene, meanwhile, continued with his quality batting, ultimately scoring 103 not out from 88 balls in a high-class batting display. Helped by the hard-hitting of Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera, Sri Lanka scored 91 runs in the last 10 overs, including 63 in the batting powerplay (45–50 overs) to take the score to 274/6.

Indian innings