Man of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh, in Mumbai, on Saturday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Mumbai: A billion prayers answered. A mission accomplished.

For a country that eats, drinks and sleeps cricket, this is the ultimate that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men could have achieved — a World Cup on home turf. The whole of India won’t sleep tonight.

This is what you wish to live for. This is the moment every Indian had been waiting for since that famous June 25 at Lord’s balcony in 1983. It finally arrived at 10.50 pm when Dhoni thumped Nuwan Kulasekara over the long on boundary to seal the six-wicket victory with ten balls remaining.

As Dhoni sank to the ground, player of the tournament Yuvraj Singh couldn’t control his emotions before holding his captain in a tight embrace. Sachin Tendulkar won’t have to live with the pain of not having won a World Cup as he rode on his teammates’ shoulders around the stadium.

“Sachin has carried the burden for Indian cricket for 21 years and it’s time we carried him on our shoulders,” Virat Kohli put it aptly.

“The proudest moment of my life… It’s never too late,” said Sachin.

“We wanted to win it for Sachin. This World Cup is for him,” an emotional Gambhir said. "It's yet to sink in and I don't know when it will sink in,” he added.

There were tears of joy and moments of madness at the Wankhede. The patriotic fervour was not to be missed though, as the home crowd sang “vande mataram” amid waving of flags and wild celebrations.

Virender Sehwag’s dismissal in the second ball of the innings and Sachin’s departure in the seventh over may have left the full house stunned, but for Dhoni’s men, it was just a temporary setback. These battle-hardened pros had been through much more during the last three years and nothing could disturb their concentration on the day.

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir added 83 in 93 balls before Tillekaratne Dilshan held on to a blinder off his own bowling to send back Kohli. Gambhir and Dhoni then ensured that the party was not spoilt with a 109-run stand.

Gambhir, though, lived a charmed life. Dropped on 30 by Kulasekara, he escaped being run out on 48 and then survived a stumping chance on 50. But he held on for his 97 off 122 balls and blossomed in the company of Dhoni.

There was no grandeur in Dhoni’s unbeaten 91, only the substance of the committed. His body seemed alive with the challenge of the moment, enjoying the surge that pressure brings.

The Man of the Match seemed to have reserved his best for the final as he came ahead of Yuvraj. There was no missing on the singles and twos while boundaries were taken off his pads and cuts dispatched square of the wicket.

Yuvraj stayed with Dhoni till the end to complete the 275-run chase. The Sri Lankan bowlers’ efforts were not enough for the determined and positive Indians.

If Mahela Jayawardene undid some of the good work done by the Indian bowlers, that proved insufficient. Like the 2007 final, his unbeaten 103 off 88 balls ended in a losing cause.

The only time Sri Lanka seemed to enjoy the advantage was when they smashed 63 during the batting Powerplay, taken in the last five overs of their innings.

Going into the final, Jayawardene had very little to show except for a century against Canada. His form had come under the scanner but Kumar Sangakkara kept faith in his abilities. Aware of his big match temperament, he didn’t even hesitate to place him alongside Aravinda de Silva as the best Sri Lankan batsman.

On Saturday, Jayawardene was in total control of the circumstances and superbly paced his innings in conditions where his teammates faltered. He guided the youngsters and stitched together 57 and 66 runs for the fourth and sixth wickets with Thilan Samaraweera and Nuwan Kulasekara, respectively.

There was also a savage unbroken seventh wicket partnership of 26 off 12 balls in the closing stages with Thisara Perera that swung the momentum in Sri Lanka’s favour. The pair was solely responsible for spoiling Zaheer Khan’s figures after the bowling spearhead went for 44 in his last three-over spell.

Jaywardene’s innings justified Sangakkara’s decision to bat after a re-toss following a confusion between the two captains and the Match Referee.

But it was Zaheer’s inspirational first spell (5-3-6-1) that made the difference between the two sides. He utilised the pace, bounce and movement on the wicket to contain the batsmen with three consecutive maidens.

A hapless Upul Tharanga then nicked the first ball of Zaheer’s fourth over to Sehwag at first slip whose sharp diving catch epitomised India’s fielding brilliance on the day.

The Indians seemed purposeful and determined from the outset. Dhoni wouldn’t complain about their fielding after Saturday’s effort.

Not a single catch was dropped, misfields were rare and the players moved around the inner circle with a tigerish prowl. Yuvraj was brilliant in the point region and outfield. Running him close were Suresh Raina and Kohli. Even Zaheer was desperate to dive near the boundary ropes.

The attitude and body language made all the difference. While the Sri Lankans dropped catches and missed stumpings and run outs, the Indians were electric on the field.

Eight years ago, Zaheer’s inexperience and immaturity had come to the fore. He was tonked for 67 runs in his seven overs, including 15 off the first, as Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting made hay at the Wanderers. Zaheer seemed hell bent on making amends this time around until Jayawardene and Thisara turned it around.

Not just Zaheer, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel were also enterprising. Given the hardness of the wicket, Harbhajan’s introduction in the 14th over came as a surprise but he didn’t disappoint. He made intelligent use of the bounce as he foxed Dilshan round his legs.

Thereafter Jayawardene stole the limelight but nothing was enough to halt the Indians on their track.