Ball smashed by Dhoni gets bid of 21 lakhs

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http://sports.ndtv.com/world-cup-2011/news/item/171659-ball-smashed-by-dhoni-gets-bid-of-21-lakhs Ball smashed by Dhoni gets bid of 21 lakhs New Delhi: After hitting the winning stroke, even Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn't help running to take a stump as a souvenir of the historic final match. Now, the very ball that he smashed for a six has already received a bid of USD 47,800 (over Rs. 21 lakh). At the same time, the fateful final match toss coin, which has also been auctioned by the International Cricket Council along with other memorabilia and collectibles, has received a highest bid of USD 25,800 (around Rs. 11.5 lakh) with one day left for the auction to close. According to the ICC's auction website, the final match ball has already received 52 bids till the time of filing this report since its auction started on March 21 which will close on April 6. On the other hand, the toss coin auction which started on February 17 and ends on Tuesday has witnessed 63 bids so far. Besides the ball and the coins, other items such as bats signed by Indian cricketers and a replica trophy are also being sold by the ICC. While the autographed bats are tagged at a fixed prices of USD 499, a replica trophy of India's world cup victory is tagged at USD 79. A lithograph signed by the Indian captain Dhoni is being sold for USD 199. Auctioning of the sports memorabilia has become a big hit among fans across the world. The case in point being the ball used in Spain's World Cup final win over the Netherlands that had fetched almost 50,000 pounds in a charity auction on eBay.