What went wrong...

and what went right in the WC 2011:

Gwen Herat, Former President-Puttalam District Cricket Association

I have never been an arm-chair critic in anything I wrote which goes for cricket too.

What went wrong? Everything that led to the finals. The SL team was below being positive. Did they have a plan? If they did; I never saw it. Very often, their body language was very revealing.

First - Over-exposure by the media that struck a hard blow in accumulating over-confidence which made the team think they filed passed the winning post as they took on the Indians in the final.

Second - the selectors should have been prepared for a solid replacement in the event a key player was ruled out as it happened with Angelo Mathew. The replacement did not stand up to Mathew's stature.

Third - Inclusion of Muttiah Muralitharan who was in the injured list and naturally not fit.

One must leave sentiments aside and remember we were playing the finals in the most prestigious event in cricket. He was already given a handsome farewell during the finals in Colombo which the whole world witnessed and a repeat performance was not necessary at the cost of the World Cup. We still hold him as a demi-god in cricket but to put the WC at risk was absured. Fourth - Bringing in Suraj Randiv from outside the squad was a disaster.

Fifth - Not playing the very disciplined Ajantha Mendis who had been a very economical bowler leading up to the final. Why was Suraj Randiv preferred over him? There are many things that the selectors are answerable to the public, such as putting pressure on Lasith Malinga to deliver as a soloist.

The bowling line-up and eratic fielding were the main causes and I need not go into detail because we all saw the pathetic performances in those departments. Only skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena rose to the occasion in batting and put on a professional act while I thought the rest looked like minnows.

While Sangakkara and Jayawardena displayed a ray of hope but when the skipper was out, the teams' body language revealed it all. When the first three wickets of the Indians fell, the Lankans were over enthusiastic and they were on a winning spree that was to prove fatal.

With a fairly big score such as 274 under their belt, they should have played with prudence and to a plan. Both of which they did not. They simply let loose the Indians to hammer them out for a 6-wicket victory.

Where was the Sri Lankan plan? It is only after the damage is done that Sangakkara condones to the fact that though his team played well, it could not be converted and that playing in WC finals is a once in a lifetime opportunity and that the team did not grab the opportunity. Had he rubbed it hard into the team, his captaincy would not have experienced such a terrible blow.

And after all these heartburns, came another tsunami. Kumara Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga pulling out from future Wcs. There has to be some reason. They owe It to the public to know why before speculation explodes. Then another bombshell; the resignation of the selectors and Mahela Jayawardena stepping down from vice-captaincy.

The mystery deepens. Wither Sri Lanka cricket?

What went right were the Indians and their positive attitude to the game. On the part of the Indians, they made use of every opportunity. The team interaction with their captain was absolutely immaculate. They had good eye contact. The first act of confidence revealed when they did not as much as flutter an eye lid when Malinga removed their star batsman, Virender Sewag (0) in the first over and a little later Tendulkar (8) cheaply.

Calculating every move of every player on field form behind the wickets, Mahendra Singh Dhoni took his team step by step towards victory. They won with ten balls to spare made possible by Gautham Gambir (97) and Dhoni (91) not out. What a spectacular showpiece that was when the skipper himself hitting a glorious six to finish off the game. This is what dreams are made of in cricket.

How did they do it: A captain's intuition that paid dividends which no one knew until the last ball was bowled. Dhoni came up with a high-stake strategy that made India clinch World Cup after 1983.

As this flawless captain revealed he had a point to prove. It was a gamble he took at the last moment. Replacing Ravichandran Ashwin with the crafty seamer. Shanthakumaran Sreesanth who buldozed his way.

Dhoni pushed himself up in the batting order at the last moment and proved his intuition right. Dhoni admitted that pressure had built on him playing in front of his nation. It was win or die and his gamble paid off.

His coach Gary Kirsten backed him in his last minute decisions as well as his senior players. He admitted that removing Sehwag on the offset did give him an anxious moment, but the sterling captain he was, he was able to extract the best from other batsmen including himself.

Self belief had been their innovation combined with grit, dedication, determination to win, steered on by a winning captain. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who from the start of the World Cup, I knew he will do it.