India’s 2011 men’s cricket World Cup-winning squad, which ended the country’s 28-year wait for silverware in the 50-over format, was named the National Team of the Decade at the 2021 Sportstar ACES Awards.
M. S. Dhoni’s winning six in the final against Sri Lanka and the euphoric atmosphere of the Wankhede Stadium in the backdrop made it a night to remember for a generation of cricket fans. It was also a special moment for Little Master Sachin Tendulkar, who got his hands on a World Cup in his sixth attempt.
“In 2011 came that moment at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai when we lifted that beautiful trophy…the best evening of my life. The whole country was celebrating,” Tendulkar said. “To all my teammates – it was a sheer joy to share the dressing room, to put in those hard hours in practice sessions... It was a joy to spend time together as one family. Congratulations to everyone for winning the Team of the Decade award.”
Yuvraj Singh, who won four Man of the Match awards at the 2011 World Cup, hailed the team effort. “Just want to thank all fans for supporting us through that journey. We did it on our home soil. We did it for Sachin Tendulkar because we thought it was going to be his last World Cup. I can’t really express the emotions in words, but it was a great team effort,” Yuvraj said.
The 2021 edition of the Sportstar ACES Awards honoured the Giants of the Decade in Indian sport, with the winners being assessing on their performance and consistency from 2011 to 2020. Eleven awards were presented under the popular choice category, which was open to public voting, along with 14 jury awards as well as special recognition awards under two new categories – Sports for Good and Giants off the Field – that recognise the work of organisations and individuals who have used sports for the betterment of society.
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