Having a ball and keeping it too

Exactly a year ago, a billion Indians held their breath as Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulasekara ran in to bowl the second ball of the 49th over. The ball was bowled, skipper MS Dhoni's bat swung and the ball soared over long on and into the MCA Pavilion of the Wankhede Stadium. Sandip Sikdar & Firoz Mirza report.

Exactly a year ago, a billion Indians held their breath as Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulasekara ran in to bowl the second ball of the 49th over. The ball was bowled, skipper MS Dhoni's bat swung and the ball soared over long on and into the MCA Pavilion of the Wankhede Stadium.

HT Image

The country erupted with joy. But ever wondered what happened to the World Cup-winning ball? The answer is: it is in the possession of the curator of the ground, Ramesh Mahamulkar.

“After Dhoni hit the six, the ball was thrown back into the ground by the crowd and I picked it up. I met Dhoni afterwards and told him that the ball was with me as I thought he would be looking for it, and he asked me to keep it,” he said. “Since then, I have kept it safely with me.”