The English Media paid tributes to the superb performance of the Indians at
the Wankhede yesterday. "Masterly Dhoni brings joy to the whole of India "
read one of the several headlines of the English media. India beat SL by six
wickets to lift the WC, which they had won last in 1983.

The press was full of praise for the Indian skipper, M S Dhoni, who played a
great, matchwinning innings of 91 not out to take India home, while chasing
a stiff 275 in the WC Final.

"The epitome of new India dominated the match (World Cup final between India
and Sri Lanka)," 'The Observer' observed.

"Masterly Dhoni brings joy to the whole of India," said 'The Guardian'.

"Dhoni is young enough to lead India to the next World Cup when he will be
quite a rich man. Sachin Tendulkar could only contribute the briefest of
cameos in his home town, 18 in 14 balls," said Vic Marks, the newspaper's
writer on cricket.

"As for Muralitharan, initially he was treated with respect, but towards the
end Dhoni punched him through the covers with awesome power. By the
standards of old, Murali was bowling donkey drops and with his body
creaking, he could not muster any more venom.

"Towards the end he held out his hands in exasperation at the wet ball, at
the misfields, but the true cause of his despair was the realisation that he
was impotent to stem the Indian tide. Sangakkara did not even turn to him
when the position was dire," he added.

"Justice Dhoni, India's joy after toss row." proclaimed The 'News of the
World' It said, "Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara was at the center of a
cheat row before India stormed to a thrilling six-wicket World Cup win.
"Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni ultimately smashed a huge six with 10
balls to spare to start the mother of all parties in the host country," it
said.

The Indian victory is all sweeter, for it came without contributions from
their best performing two in this WC, Sachin and Sehwag. In the past, they
might have scored heavily, but the middle order played solidly in stands of
83, 109 and 54 not out.

"The way Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, M S Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh batted
showed a self-assurance that had not been so evident when collapsing against
England, South Africa and West Indies in the group stage." ( They collapsed
because of the Powerplay, as they tried to hit the bowlers out of the ground
! ).

Martin Johnson wrote, in another write up in the same newspaper. "Nerveless
Dhoni puts his house in order."

"India's captain and his team take pressure in their stride on way to a
famous triumph. The hush when Sehwag was out to the second ball of the
innings was nothing compared to the one when Tendulkar failed to expedite
the script that had him winning the game single-handedly with his 100th
international hundred, and anyone watching at home must have thought they'd
accidentally sat down on the mute button," he said.

"It must have been tough for Dhoni to watch, which is perhaps why he
promoted himself in the order. There was a job to do, and the captain
decided to do it. Mind you, it shouldn't have been difficult to motivate
himself. It was partly through a burning desire to do it for Mother India,
but mostly a determination not to have to get the double-glazers in," he
added.

The Englishmen are in for a treat as India tours England. "India are due to
tour to play four Tests and five one-day internationals and the teams then
meet for five ODIs and three Twenty20s in India later in the year."

The 'Sunday Telegraph' said, "India owed their second World Cup to their
magnificent batsmen. Their two finest - Sachin Tendulkar and Virender
Sehwag - did not score 20 between them, yet the remaining Indian batsmen
knocked off the runs with six wickets and ten balls to spare in the highest
successful run-chase that any of the ten cup finals has seen."

The report said, "the weight of expectation on India was enormous - from the
outset of this tournament they have been the favourites - but they followed
the example of their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in withstanding it. If
Brazil win a football World Cup at home, they will have a small and silent
fan-base compared to the Indian cricket team last evening and their 1.2
billion home supporters."

"India are worhty world champions' declared the Aus media.

Dhoni's leadership and his magnificent performance in the WC final stole the
limelight from iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar !

"India defies history to win the WC in 28 years" said the Australian.

"Tthough it was not a fairytale finish but nonetheless India were the
deserved world champions. It was about two great South Asian teams giving
fans a thrilling, edge-of-the-seat one day final and a deserved triumph for
a cricketing nation which felt its time had come.It wasn't a fairytale
finish but for Mumbai and a nation still licking its wounds, it was more
than enough," the 'Australian' averred.

"Tendulkar might have been the name on everyone's lips but if ever there was
a sign that the Indian team has moved beyond its one-man juggernaut,
Saturday night's gritty victory was it.

"The team showed determination and discipline that surprised even the most
nationalist fans to snatch a victory every man in the team then dedicated to
their diminutive teammate playing in his sixth and final World Cup," it
said.

"The win bore little resemblance to the fairytale finish the Mumbai crowd
had been hoping for; one in which Sachin Tendulkar saw out his final World
Cup by hitting his hundredth century before his home town crowd."

Dhoni was described as an all conquering captain, who now rivalled Sachin in
popularity.

"The 29-year-old is already cricket's top earner after signing a record
two-year, $ 42 million contract last year to endorse whatever product
comes his way, and after Saturday night's remarkable home-ground win against
Sri Lanka, his marketability knows no bounds.

"With neither the Brahminical poise of hero-worshipped Sachin Tendulkar, the
joviality of Shahid Afridi, or the worldly eloquence of Kumar Sangakkara,
Dhoni is nonetheless the face of a new, harder-edged Indian team.

"It was Dhoni's innings of 91 not out, and his final game-winning six, that
made him the man of the match and sent a 33,000-capacity crowd at the
Wankhede Stadium into a frenzy," the newspaper said.

Highly experienced cricket writer, Peter Roebuck, writing for 'Sydney
Morning Herald'
praised Dhoni for his bold leadership.

"The day belonged to Dhoni. Like Jayawardene, his form had been scratchy but
he was able to put that behind him.

'Bold captain Dhoni India's hero of the day'. was Roebuck' headline in which
he wrote "Indeed he dared to push himself up the order"

"In the critical hour and despite modest returns, Dhoni dared to back
himself. That is leading from the front. Even in the toughest times, too, he
managed to convey composure.

Throughout, his players felt their captain remained on the bridge and the
situation was under control.

"Exuberant celebrations began the moment Dhoni clouted a drive into the
stands. It was a fitting end to an unexpectedly successful and mostly clean
tournament. Appropriately, the final was a superb contest full of twists and
turns and dominated not by power but by skill and temperament.

"No home side had won a World Cup before but India did not blink. Overall it
was a happy and entertaining occasion ... It was a fine World Cup, the best
for 25 years."

( The first ball of this WC was hit for a four by Sehwag and the last ball
was hit for a six by Dhoni. This speaks volumes of Indian batting. Just
imagine, a centurion, Y Pathan, has to sit out, because there is no slot for
him in the Indian batting line up ! Imran used two words to define Indian
batting - formidable and impregnable! ).