‘We were short by 20 to 30 runs’: Angelo Mathews recalls 2011 World Cup final loss to India

The 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai had several moments which made it a thrilling affair. There was a confusion at the toss, and eventually Sri Lanka decided to bat. Mahela Jayawardene's ton helped Sri Lankto a strong total. Virender Sehwag was dismissed in the first over and Sachin Tendulkar was also dismissed cheaply. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir stitched a partnership, but after Kohli's fall, Dhoni promoted himself over an in-form Yuvraj Singh and faced the heat. Gambhir missed out on a hundred but Dhoni carried the game forward and then smashed Nuwan Kulasekara for a six to win the match for India.

If any of these moments had worked out differently, the result at Wankhede could have been different. Speaking in an interview with Anis Sajan on his Youtube chat show Cricket Unplugged, Sri Lanka star allrounder Angelo Mathews opened up on the final and said that his team fell short by 20-30 runs.

"That was my first 50-overs World Cup as I played in the World T20 in 2009 and 2010. 2011 was a special one, especially because we were playing in our own conditions. We played some great cricket en route to the finals, and even in the final. Unfortunately, I got injured and that's one of my disappointing moments as I was looking forward to playing the final after winning the semi-final," Mathews was quoted as saying by Cric Tracker.

"I couldn't even walk for two weeks after the quadriceps muscle injury as it was painful. The doctors also ruled out my chances of me playing. But I was thankful that I was taken with the squad to India to see if I can play, but it didn't happen," he added.

Recalling the final, Mathews said: "I still feel that if we had gotten about 320, we could've given a good fight even against India's strong batting lineup. Indian wickets are flat as roads and when a batsman gets going, it can be really tough to stop him. India had a gun batting lineup as well. Wankhede is not a massive stadium, but the ball stays hit when you hit it and the pitch was also good."

"We were short by about 20 to 30 runs. We had our chances, but Gautam (Gambhir) and Virat (Kohli) batted really well. Then, MS Dhoni joined them and finished it off. All in all, it was a good game," he further added.

The 2011 World Cup win was MS Dhoni's 2nd ICC trophy as captain. He had previously won the 2007 T20I World Cup in South Africa. Dhoni, later, also went on to win the 2013 Champions Trophy, becoming the only captain to win all three ICC tournaments.