The decision to bat ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium against Sri Lanka remains one of the boldest calls that skipper MS Dhoni has made as skipper.

However, that was not the only time that the Ranchi player walked ahead of him and ended up winning the Player of the Match award.

That Yuvraj Singh, who was named Player of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup for his all-round brilliance, was held back as Dhoni walked out to bat in the final to maintain the right hand-left hand combination is a tale that instantly went down in folklore. Dhoni, who had only scored 151 runs in seven innings in the tournament till then, took on the brave call to partner Gautam Gambhir in the middle with India needing 161 more in 28.2 overs. Yuvraj, who had amassed 341 runs in the edition till then, was demoted to number six, but the decision paid off as Dhoni not only stayed till the end but helped India win the title after 28 long years. The wicketkeeper ended with an unbeaten 91 to end with the Player of the Match award.

However, this was not the first time that Dhoni took a decision to walk in ahead of left-handed Yuvraj, who was all padded up and ready to walk in at the fall of a wicket. A similar move played out during the Guwahati ODI against Pakistan in 2007 too, when the gloveman, fresh from a T20 World Cup win, walked in at four ahead of Yuvraj, who had been in stellar form.

After smashing six sixes in an over in South Africa against England, Yuvraj was in fine nick in the ODI series against Australia that followed, scoring 192 runs in six innings, including a high score of 121.

However, he saw himself being pushed down the order in the first ODI against Pakistan in November, with Dhoni choosing to partner Gambhir after the openers – Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar – had been dismissed early while chasing Pakistan’s 239 for 7.

While Gambhir scored 44, Dhoni ended up with 63 off 77 at a strike rate of nearing 82. However, the former was sent back with India still needing over 100 runs for a win, which was when Yuvraj finally walked out to bat. The Chandigarh player was at his attacking best as he smashed six fours and a maximum in his 74-ball stay at the crease that saw him score 58 as India won the game easily in the end.

Dhoni, however, ended with the Player of the Match award for his innings that showed equal amounts of caution and aggression.

When asked at the post match press conference about his decision to bat ahead of an in-form Yuvraj, Dhoni quipped, “We needed a left-right combination. Yuvi was padded up but we decided four-five overs ahead that we needed a left-right combination in the middle.”

DEJA VU?

This is the 2011 World Cup presentation happening in 2007.

Listen to captain Dhoni speak as he talks about why he promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj who was padded up and then also goes on to collect the Man of the match award for his match winning performance. pic.twitter.com/zDaSa7ruXR

— RandomCricketPhotos&Videos (@RandomCricketP1) May 28, 2021

A little under four years later, a similar situation would play out after Tendulkar advised Dhoni to walk ahead of Yuvraj in a tense situation alongside Gambhir. Like in 2007, this time too the decision paid off as the Men in Blue romped home to a memorable win in the final.