India captain MS Dhoni, promoting himself up the order, joined Gambhir and they both added 109 runs, an Indian record in a World Cup final.

Co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, the tournament was the third World Cup to be played in the Indian subcontinent.

Both the Sri Lankan openers, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga made unbeaten centuries and put up a world-record stand for the first wicket in a World Cup.

The matches showcased the effective unconventional bowling of pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, restrictive fielding, and the batting prowess of the Sri Lankan top order.

India and their semi-final opponents, Pakistan, have historically been rivals, and there was immense public pressure on both teams with the match attended by the Prime Ministers of both countries.

India was widely rated as having the strongest batting line-up in the tournament, and chose to back this strength throughout the campaign by playing seven batsmen and four bowlers.

Due to Yuvraj Singh performing well with both bat and ball in the tournament, India could afford to play with only four specialist bowlers.

Among the four bowling slots, Zaheer Khan was the pace spearhead supported in most matches by Munaf Patel, while Harbhajan Singh was the regular off-spinner.

The fourth slot was taken by different bowlers in different matches, including Sreesanth, Nehra, leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, or off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

He already had proven spinners in Harbhajan and Yuvraj, and could call upon many other Indian players who can bowl part-time spin (including Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, and Virender Sehwag).

Spin bowler Ajantha Mendis had performed well throughout the tournament, but he had a poor record against India in pre-World Cup clashes and was not chosen for the final.

Seamers Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera, who had played matches in the earlier group stage, were drafted into the team.

[12] Sri Lanka started the innings slowly, constrained by good bowling from Zaheer Khan and committed fielding from Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, and Virat Kohli inside the 30-yard circle.

[13] Sri Lankan opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled by Harbhajan Singh when a delivery carried on to the stumps after deflecting off his gloves.

New batsman Thilan Samaraweera was adjudged not out by the umpire when a ball hit his thigh pad off the bowling of Yuvraj Singh.

Chamara Kapugedera, who was playing his first World Cup match, was caught off a deceptive slower ball by Zaheer Khan.

India had a wobbly start, with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar both dismissed early by Lasith Malinga, leaving them struggling at 31 for two.

When he was on 30, Gambhir mistimed a shot off the bowling of Suraj Randiv, sending the ball high up in the air, but Nuwan Kulasekara could not hold on to a difficult chance at long off.

Along with other considerations, by coming ahead of Yuvraj, Dhoni ensured there would be a right-left batting combination between him and Gambhir, which makes it difficult for the bowlers to get into a rhythm, and necessitates frequent field changes.

Gambhir tried to bring up his century with a boundary, but his heaving bat failed to connect with the ball, and he was bowled by Thisara Perera.

Like in many other day-night matches in the subcontinent, dew started to form on the outfield grass in the night, making the ball damp and difficult to grip especially in the later part of India's batting.

[16] By crossing the target of 274, India had set a record for the highest successful run-chase in a World Cup final.

In the post-match presentation, the Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said that the Indians batted very well, and "looks like you need to make something like 350 runs to put them under pressure."

[21] Though Sri Lankan spectators were initially disappointed, they eventually rallied behind their team and welcomed them at the airport with garlands, cheers, and celebration.

Sri Lanka's excellent performance throughout the World Cup was appreciated, and it was recognised that reaching the final was a significant achievement in itself.

There was no ticker tape parade for the team on an open bus (as was organised after the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup win) because of the hectic schedule, with the 2011 edition of the Indian Premier League starting on 8 April.

Apart from the World Cup trophy itself, the Indian team was given many prizes from the cricket boards, various state governments, and public and private companies.

He stated he was willing to captain the team for the upcoming tours of England and possibly Australia if the selectors felt this would aid the transition to a new captaincy.

[34] The erstwhile Sri Lankan Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage also supported Ranatunga's match fixing allegations.

[35] However, three years later, Sri Lankan Police suspended the match fixing probe citing lack of sufficient evidence.