The World Cup in quotes

Mumbai: The 2011 Cricket World Cup in quotes: "He's (Sachin Tendulkar) carried the burden of the nation for 21 years so it's time we carried him on our shoulders" -- batsman Virat Kohli summed up the feelings of a billion Indians after Tendulkar was carried around Wankhede Stadium by his team mates for a lap of honour following India's World Cup triumph over Sri Lanka. "As a young boy, I grew up wanting to win it some day. It was something I always wanted. This is the ultimate trophy, the ultimate thing which brings smiles on the nation's face. It's the proudest moment of my life. It's never too late" -- Tendulkar after winning the trophy on his sixth attempt. "The pressure you go through is a lot, we felt it throughout the tournament. You ask the players, they were not eating well because of anxiety. Not pressure but anxiety. There would be food in front of you but you wouldn't feel like eating it" -- India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni sums up how the team struggled to cope with the expectations of a billion fans. "I think we kissed the World Cup trophy a thousand times" -- Yuvraj Singh, who was named man-of-the-tournament for scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets. "We have come here to play cricket. This is not a war field or anything" -- Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam on the hype surrounding his team's semi-final showdown with India. "We have two common religions -- cricket and cinema. Why then fight?" -- a banner in the crowd during the India-Pakistan match. (My Fav)!) "Billion Indian hearts beating for 11 boys in blue to make India proud!" Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi's Tweet before the India-Pakistan semi-final. "When the team gets on to the plane and goes home, it's going to be daggers and stones thrown and whatever. And a group of 25 people have to take it on the chin. It's been going on since 1992, we haven't won any World Cups" -- captain Graeme Smith anticipates the backlash after South Africa kept up their record of never having won a knockout match at the World Cup. "I'm not a tragic hero. I'm not feeling much of a hero right now" -- Ricky Ponting on Australia's demise in the quarter-finals to India despite the fact he finally ended a lean spell to score a hundred in the match. He stepped down as captain five days later. "Earlier, whatever I was touching was turning into mud. Definitely things have changed" -- Yuvraj Singh after collecting his fourth man-of-the-match trophy at the World Cup following India's win over Australia. "Players can get into pretty dark places on tour, especially if things don't go well. You might have a couple of bad games or be dropped and your mind can take you to places you don't want to go. Add to that the curse of a depressive illness and the rest of us can only imagine what Yards has been going through" -- England spinner Graeme Swann on team mate Michael Yardy's decision to fly home because of depression.  Source: http://www.sify.com/sports/the-world-cup-in-quotes-news-cricket-ledt0dggfge.html