What MS Dhoni did with his 2011 World Cup Final bat will make you respect him more

There were exuberant scenes of jubilant Indian fans lighting firecrackers into the sky after cricketing brain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit a six against Sri Lanka to help India lift the World Cup trophy after twenty-eight years. Indian fans went through raw emotions on a memorable day and the party started in the Indian dressing room. The epic reaction of the then coach Gary Kirsten, his coaching staff and fans also makes for compelling viewing.

Indian fans who turned up in numbers didn’t even miss even a millisecond of India scripting an iconic victory at the Wankhede Stadium. India beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in a nail-biting encounter which culminated with MS Dhoni winning it for India with a sensational six off Nuwan Kulasekara’s bowling. Countless fans from every nook and corner of the cricket fraternity witnessed the scenes in large gatherings at pubs, clubs and large screen venues.

What is the cost of the bat?

Even today, MS Dhoni’s six in the World Cup final still remains etched in our memories. Till the time MS Dhoni was using the willow to smack the ball all around the park, the bat was worth around four to five thousand Indian rupees. But, with all the raw emotions and memories instilled in it, the bat’s value rose to a staggering amount.

The bat which MS Dhoni hit the winning shot was auctioned for a whopping Rs 83 lakhs ($161,295). The aim was to increase funds for MS Dhoni’s wife Sakshi’s charitable organization, ‘Sakshi Foundation’ that works for children from economically backward sections of the society in India.

The bat was purchased by RK Global Share and Securities LTD, an investment group. In fact, it is the biggest amount anyone has ever spent on a piece of English willow across the cricketing globe. The Guinness Book of World Records officially named it to be the most expensive cricket bat in the world.

MS Dhoni is the only captain in the history of cricket to have clinched three ICC trophies namely ICC World Cup 2007, ICC World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013. He stepped down as Indian captain on January 4, 2017. Apart from being a productive wicketkeeper-batsman, he has always worked behind the scenes to give tips to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in crunch situations of the game.