INDIA277-4 [Dhoni 91*, Gambhir 74] beat SRI LANKA 274-6 [Jayawardene 103*] by six wickets
Full scorecards: BBC - Cricinfo
Full World Cup results: The Intrepid Reporter
INDIA captain MS Dhoni hit a stunning 91 not out off 76 balls to lead his team to their first World Cup success since 1983.
Dhoni smacked a six off Nuwan Kulasekara to confirm India's place as the best One Day International cricket team in the world with a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Mumbai.
Sachin Tendulkar failed to score his 100th international century but, nonetheless, India dedicated their long-awaited World Cup win to the legendary batsman.
However, the sport's showpiece event began in controversial circumstances after match referee Jeffrey Crowe held the toss twice.
Crowe claimed he could not hear the original call of "heads" by Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara and he then won the second toss before unsurprisingly opting to bat.
Thankfully, from then on, the cricket ruled the day as pair of well-matched teams produced the scintillating Final in front of a vivacious atmosphere.
The home fans were celebrating early on in the Sri Lankan innings as Upul Tharanga edged Zaheer Khan to Virender Sehwag at slip on just two.
Fellow opener Tillakaratne Dilshan did a little better but he was also unable to produce a match-winning score after falling after attempting to sweep Harbhajan Singh on 33.
And so, in the 17th over, Sri Lanka were 60-2 with the two best openers statistically in the tournament both removed.
India's early dominance continued in the 28th over when Sangakkara feathered Yuvraj Singh behind to Dhoni for 48.
Then, just as the Sri Lankans were building up a head of steam, Thilan Samaraweera was trapped lbw by Yuvraj and given out after a successful Indian appeal to the third umpire.
Sri Lanka's 179-4 was soon 182-5 after Chamara Kapugedera gave a simple catch to Suresh Raina at short extra cover off Zaheer for a solitary run in the 40th over.
At that stage, it did not look as if Sri Lanka were going to set a particularly challenging score but this World Cup has become memorable for some of the greatest ODI matches of all time.
Of course, England were involved in a few - against Ireland, South Africa and the West Indies - but there have also been thrilling finishes throughout the whole tournament.
Games have ebbed and flowed - and this Final was to prove no exception.
Sri Lanka did end up posting an imposing total of 274 by scoring 91 runs off the final 10 overs thanks mainly to unfortunate Mahela Jayawardene who hit 103 not out in vain.
Meanwhile, the noble Kulasekara, who sacrificed his wicket on 32 when being run out to keep Jayawardene on strike, and the unbeaten Thisara Perera on 22 provided notable assistance in the final overs.
Around the ground, there was a tentative feeling that the pendulum had swung in Sri Lanka's favour.
And that tension became outright panic when the unorthodox Lasith Malinga enjoyed a brilliant opening spell as India set about chasing 275 for victory.
First, Sehwag, one of the best openers currently playing, was trapped lbw for a second-ball duck.
Then, in the seventh over, Tendulkar also fell to Malinga for 18 as Sangakkara took an excellent low catch behind the stumps.
Sri Lanka had clearly failed to read the script that Tendulkar would score his 100th international century and lead India to victory. Instead, the hosts were 31-2 and the Wankhede stadium had fallen into silence.
There then followed a quieter period in the game as Sri Lanka sat back satisfied with their start and India set about trying to rebuild their innings.
Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli put on 83 for the third wicket before Kohli's wicket fell for 35 in the 22nd over after Dilshan took a brilliant one-handed return catch.
The wicket meant Sri Lanka stayed favourites at that point with India at 114-3 but the departure of Kholi saw the surprise introduction of Dhoni.
Dhoni, under immense pressure having promoted himself up the order, joined Gambhir and set about completing the job of resurrecting the Indian innings.
The pair progressed slowly at first before both men grew in confidence once India moved passed the 150 mark in the 30th over.
Sri Lanka's bowling became ragged with Kulasekara and Perera proving particularly expensive but the latter then attempted to turn the game around again by bowling Gambhir on 97.
India were 223-4, still requiring another 52 runs off 50 balls, but of all the batsmen which India could call upon, Yuvraj Singh was probably the best bet in this World Cup.
Yuvraj had scored heavily with the bat and excelled with the ball, picking up four man-of-the-match awards and deservedly ending up as player of the tournament.
Here, though, he was reduced to a mere support act role with Dhoni seemingly determined to take centre stage.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Sangakkara had started to lose his nerve, reintroducing Kulasekara when Muttiah Muralitharan, playing in his last World Cup, still had two overs to bowl.
Murali made his position well-known with a brief remonstration in the direction of his captain before Kulasekara then conceded 11 off the over.
And, with the finishing line in sight, Sri Lanka's last remaining threat Malinga bowled a series of poor balls which were gleefully knocked away by the Indians again for 11 off the over.
Kulasekara was again entrusted with the 49th over and Yuvraj knocked an easy single off the first ball to backward point to bring Dhoni back on strike.
Dhoni made no mistake, smashing the ball into the stand over long-on to send 1.2 billion Indians into raptured as the Wankhede erupted into a wall of noise.
This victory had been a long time coming - 28 years, in fact - but finally it meant this generation of Indians could enjoy international success. They have now set the benchmark for others to beat.
Of course, much has been made of the introduction of Twenty20 and its effect on the 50-over game. This is especially the case in India where the IPL has really captured the imagination.
But the fact that India have now won the World Cup should give the 50-over version the shot in the arm which it hugely needed.
Overall, though, it is a boost which it richly deserves after this wonderful, if excessively long, display of the world's top cricket talent.
World Cup 2011: Top five leading run-scorers
500 Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)
482 Sachin Tendulkar (India)
465 Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
422 Jonathan Trott (England)
395 Upul Tharanga (Sri Lanka)
World Cup 2011: Top five wicket-takers
21 Shahid Afridi (Pakistan), Zaheer Khan (India)
18 Tim Southee (New Zealand)
15 Robin Peterson (South Africa), Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka)
Full World Cup 2011 stats: Wikipedia
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