New Delhi: The 2007 T20 World Cup will always remain special for Indian cricket fans. In what was an unforgettable tournament, MS Dhoni-led India started as underdogs and went on to beat the favourites to lift the country’s maiden title in the inaugural edition of the tournament in South Africa. Tuesday, 24 September 2024 marks 17 years since India’s memorable 2007 T20 World Cup triumph.
After a disastrous ODI World Cup earlier that year, India were far from favourites heading into the tournament. It was a young and relatively inexperienced team with a new captain – Dhoni in charge. Little did anyone expect India to go all the way in the newly-launched T20 format. However, underdogs India shut their critics down in style as they scripted history after beating Pakistan in a thrilling final in Johannesburg to lift their maiden T20 World Cup title.
India’s T20 World Cup victory in South Africa left an indelible mark in world cricket, repositioning the Men in Blue’s status as one of the best teams in the world. The victory gave millions back home something to cheer after witnessing what was one of India’s worst-ever ODI World Cup campaigns earlier that year.
India brought an end to a 17-year-long wait to lift their second T20 World Cup title under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in 2024. But the country’s maiden triumph remains special for the fans considering India were the underdogs in the tournament. 2024 was completely different as despite not having lifted a major trophy in a decade, India entered the tournament as one of the favourites and went on to lift the trophy in style.
2007 T20 World Cup – MS Dhoni & Co. shun underdogs tag to create history
India headed into the T20 World Cup 2007 as one of the least favourites with a new captain and a young squad at their disposal. Senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid had already pulled out of the tournament, paving the way for the youngsters to get a taste of the T20 format which was relatively new.
But the tournament turned out to be the start of something special as Dhoni emerged as a calm and composed leader, who stamped his authority on the world stage with his remarkable captaincy. Dhoni’s calm approach became a defining feature of India’s campaign as the Men in Blue played a fearless brand of cricket to enjoy a fantastic run.
India started their campaign with a nail-biting win against arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling bowlout before beating the likes of New Zealand, England and South Africa to reach the semi-final. India were up against the mighty Australians in the final. However, brilliant knocks from Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni helped India post a strong total of 188 runs on the board before the bowlers stepped up to restrict Australia to 173/7 in 20 overs and wrap up a magnificent victory for India.
In the all-important final, India locked horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in what turned out to be a humdinger of a summit clash. Joginder Sharma bowled the crucial last over and dismissed a well-set Misbah-ul-Haq on 43 on the third delivery to help India defend a total of 157 runs and seal the trophy most dramatically.
With 6 runs required off the last 4 balls, Misbah went for a scoop shot against Joginder and ended up playing his shot in the air. S Sreesanth plucked a brilliant catch under pressure to help India script history by lifting the trophy. The 2007 T20 World Cup triumph marked the rise of Dhoni, the captain for India as the legendary wicket-keeper went on to become the only captain in history to win all three ICC limited-overs trophies.
OTD Current T20 Champions INDIA won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 🏆
• MS Dhoni in his first WC as Captain, won the cup.
• Gautam Gambhir was the highest run scorer in the final.
• Irfan Pathan was the POTM in the final. #T20WorldCup2007 pic.twitter.com/E4iQy5w4w6
— 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐢🥂 (@Oyye_Senpai) September 24, 2024
2024 T20 World Cup – Favourites Rohit Sharma & Co. end 17-year wait
Unlike 2007, India had a well-settled squad heading into the T20 World Cup with the experienced Rohit Sharma in charge of the team. The Men in Blue had a gun bowling line-up spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah and a star-studded batting line-up consisting of the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav among others.
Despite not having won an ICC title for 10 years, India entered the tournament as favourites for the trophy. They ended up living up to the favourites tag with absolute domination in the competition. India brushed aside every team to reach the final unbeaten. The Men in Blue played out a thrilling final against South Africa and emerged on top to lift the trophy.
Riding on Virat Kohli’s 76 and Axar Patel’s 47, India posted a fighting total of 176 runs on the board, batting first in the final. Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya then shone with the ball to help the Men in Blue pull off a thrilling 7-run victory. The duo picked up 5 wickets between them to run through the South African batting line-up.
Suryakumar Yadav plucked the most important catch of his career on te boundary line in the final over of South Africa’s run-chase to send David Miller packing to seal the title for India. India brought an end to a 17-year-long wait for their 2nd T20 World Cup crown and became the first team to win the tournament unbeaten.
September 24, 2024 marks 17 years of Team India’s memorable triumph in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 under the legendary MS Dhoni. India have since lifted the elusive trophy once more earlier this year but the country’s maiden trophy would always remain a special one considering India were the underdogs heading into the tournament and defied all odds to emerge victorious. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
