New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday tripped down the memory lane, recalling Indian cricket’s iconic moment of lifting the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007. On September 24, 2007, MS Dhoni-led India won the showpiece event at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg following a thrilling five-run win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the final.
This has been etched as a glorious chapter in the annals of Indian cricket history. The landmark achievement paved way for the T20 extravaganza in the country in what is profoundly known as the Indian Premier League (IPL). The country now celebrates 17 years of the first T20 World Cup triumph in a year when it bagged its second in Barbados.
🗓️ #OnThisDay in 2007!
The @msdhoni-led #TeamIndia created 𝙃𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙔 as they lifted the ICC World Twenty20 Trophy 🏆👏 pic.twitter.com/ICB0QmxhjP
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 24, 2024
Back then, not many expected India to trump the big names in the not-highly-adapted conditions of South Africa. But it was the charisma of ‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni of leading a host of youngsters and delivering at the global stage. It also began the chapter of ‘Dhoni The Captain’ as he went on to lead the national side across formats for close to a decade.
How India won T20 World Cup 2007?
India was paired with Pakistan and Scotland in Group D of the preliminary stage. The match against Scotland was abandoned due to rain interruption. The Pakistan clash ended in a tie with both teams registering 141 on the board after the stipulated 20-over game. India won the bowl-out session with Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa hitting the stumps while Pakistan bowlers missed the target in all three attempts.
India lost its first match against New Zealand in the Super 8 stage Group E by 10 runs, but back-to-back wins against South Africa and England in Durban confirmed the Men in Blue’s spot in the semifinals.
The Aussie juggernaut
India overcame a buoyant Australian side comprising a star-studded lineup of Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson. Yuvraj Singh’s blistering 70 off 30 balls helped India to set the Aussies a challenging target of 189. S Sreesanth dented Australia with big blows, crashing the stumps of openers Gilchrist and Hayden before Irfan Pathan castled the big fighter Symonds in the slog overs. MS Dhoni’s men won by 15 runs to set a mouth-watering clash with Pakistan in the final.
Meet with old foes again
Gautam Gambhir held his ground from one end even though wickets kept falling in regular intervals from the other end. The southpaw smashed eight boundaries and two sixes in a 54-ball 70-run-stupendous knock. Rohit Sharma’s late quickfire (30 runs of 16 balls) propelled the team to a competitive score of 157 for 5 in the first innings.
Indian pacer Rudra Pratap Singh dealt Pakistan early blows with the removal of opener Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal before Imran Nazir and Younis Khan were involved in a brief partnership of 27 runs. Nazir was ran out by Uthappa and Youni was caught by Yusuf Pathan off Joginder Sharma’s bowling.
Irfan removed Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik for just eight runs before sending power-hitter Shahid Afridi for a golden duck. Pakistan was reduced to 77 for 6 in the 12th over with all hopes lying on Misbah-ul-Haq to get the team through the finishing line.
Misbah combined with the tail, displaying valiant efforts. It was against the notion of Misbah – who consumes enough balls at the crease and builds the pressure around. That Misbah was ready to take the Indian challenge and took leg-spinner Harbhajan Singh to the cleaners with three massive sixes came in the 17th over.
Sohail Tanvir showed support to Misbah, tonking a couple of sixes against Sreesanth before the pacer cleaned him up at the end of 18th over. Harbhajan bowled a great penultimate over, conceding seven runs, though he was hit for a boundary by Mohammad Asif, the last man for Pakistan in their batting order.
With 13 runs needed from the last six balls, Joginder Sharma started the final over with a wide, adding the immense pressure. A six straight down the pitch only added injury to the wounds. Misbah’s attempted scoop didn’t find the desired distance as the ball landed in the hands of Sreesanth positioned at the short fine-leg. That was the catch that sealed the match for India and the Men in Blue danced and ran around the Wanderers stadium to celebrate the win.
The 2007 T20 World Cup triumph has been etched as a glorious chapter in the annals of Indian cricket history. The landmark achievement paved way for the T20 extravaganza in the country in what is profoundly known as the Indian Premier League (IPL). The country now celebrates 17 years of the first T20 World Cup triumph in a year when it bagged its second in Barbados. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
