ICC World T20 2007 – The Most Riveting Matches

When the ICC World T20 was first announced in 2007, the cricketing world was a completely different place. Twenty20 was a relatively new format and was not widely known. T20 was first introduced in 2003, by Stuart Robertson, the former marketing manager of the ECB in order to spruce up domestic cricket in England. The format was an instant hit and had spread rapidly to all the test playing nations except India. The BCCI was initially reluctant to adopt the format as it feared that its stranglehold over world cricket would diminish. India remains as of today, the last Test playing nation to make its T20 international debut.

After the roaring success of the inaugural World T20, Indians embraced the game and that gave rise to the behemoth known as the IPL. Looking back, here is a list of the Top 3 games in the first edition of the world T20.

Australia vs. Zimbabwe at Cape Town – September 12 2007

Australia 138/9 in 20 overs lost to Zimbabwe 139/9 in 19.5 overs

Four Time World Champions in One day cricket Australia was up against Zimbabwe in a Group B match at Cape Town. With Gilchrist, Hayden, Ponting, Symonds, Hussey and Lee in the Australian side, the game was expected to be a walk in the park for Australia. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. The most fearsome opening combination in world cricket was dismissed in the space of two overs. Captain courageous Ricky Ponting did not trouble the scorers too much and departed soon after, to leave the Aussies reeling at 19/3 in 4 overs.

It was then up to the trio of Symonds, Hussey and Hodge to rebuild the innings and lend some respectability to the team’s total. At the end of twenty overs, Australia was 138/9. Zimbabwe got off to a rollicking start, in sharp contrast to Australia. Sibanda and Taylor took the attack to the opposition. After the fall of Sibanda, the scoring slowed down a bit, but Zimbabwe was on course.

At the end of 14 overs, the scoreboard read 87/4. A bad over from Hodge, in which he conceded 15 runs, handed the initiative back to the African team. But the next 4 overs were tight and the equation was down to 12 runs from the last over for Zimbabwe. Taylor smashed the first ball of the last over for four. In the next three balls, four runs were scored. With four needed from two balls, Bracken conceded 4 leg byes off the penultimate delivery and a deserving Zimbabwean team won the match!

India vs. Pakistan at Durban – September 14 2007

India 141/9 in 20 overs tied with Pakistan 141/7 in 20 overs. India won the bowl out 3-0.

India vs. Pakistan in a World Cup match, nothing could possibly be bigger than that. With India’s first match against Scotland washed out, the Indian team had to win or lose by a small margin to progress to the next round. The new look Indian team was not amongst the favourites to win the Cup and the expectations from the team were very low.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first. The Indian openers were supposed to be the only strong link in the Indian team. Gambhir was out for a duck and Sehwag didn’t last very long either. The last semblance of hope then was Yuvraj Singh. In the first ball of the fourth over, Yuvraj Singh was heading back to the pavilion. 19/3 in the fourth over and it seemed like the Indians had just played their first and last match of the world cup.

Uthappa and Karthik led the fight back for India. Karthik, though, did not last for long and was sent back to the dressing room by Asif. The score was 36/4 after 6.4 overs. Dhoni was up next. Uthappa and Dhoni slowly and steadily rebuilt the innings with controlled aggression. Pathan and Agarkar chipped in with some valuable runs and India’s eventual total of 141 was good, considering the state of affairs in the seventh over.

Pakistan was off to a decent start. Butt and Akmal took Pakistan to a score of 44/1 in seven overs. Team India hit back with three quick wickets and the scales were balanced once again. The Indian bowlers strangled the Pakistani batsmen and stemmed the flow of runs considerably in the next few overs. Pakistan was moving at a snail’s place.

At the end of 17 overs, Pakistan was 100/5. The Indians were well on course for a comfortable victory. But the format of T20 is such that, a team can never rest, no matter what the situation is. With 40 needed off 15 balls and Afridi dismissed, all seemed lost for Pakistan. But Misbah and Arafat had other plans. 27 runs were scored off the next 8 balls and all of a sudden, Pakistan only needed 12 runs from 6 balls. Sreesanth was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the final over of the match. Arafat crossed over for a single off the first ball. Misbah capitalised on three poor deliveries from Sreesanth and hammered the bowler for 10 runs. The scores were level with two balls left. Misbah missed the penultimate delivery and it was down to one run off the final delivery. In a sensational finale, Misbah cut the ball straight to Yuvraj and scampered for a run. Yuvraj was too quick for Misbah though and the batsman was run out! This was first tie of the tournament.

The match was then settled by means of a bowl out, which team India won comfortably 3-0. What a game it turned out to be!

India vs Pakistan at Johannesburg – September 24 2007

India 157/5 in 20 overs beat Pakistan 152/10 in 19.3 overs

India vs. Pakistan in the finals of a World Cup, this was the mother of all contests! India and Pakistan had never faced off in the final of a world event previously. So with bated breath, fans from the two neighbouring countries waited eagerly for this game. Team India was dealt a severe blow before the finals, as Sehwag was declared unfit. The unheralded Yusuf Pathan, a player who was previously unheard of, was drafted into the side as a replacement for Sehwag.

Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. Yusuf Pathan got India off to a flier and departed after a scintillating cameo. Gambhir was in fine nick and was timing his shots well. Uthappa struggled to get a hold and was out to Tanvir in the sixth over. Gambhir and Yuvraj steadied the ship and India was on course for a big total. The score was 103/2 in the fourteenth over. Yuvraj and Dhoni departed in quick succession. At the other end, Gambhir was unfazed and kept the scoreboard ticking. Rohit Sharma blitzed away towards the end with a quick-fire 30. India’s total at the end of 20 overs was a decent 157/5.

Pakistan lost Hafeez in the first over in pursuit of India’s 157. Nazir was on fire and was in a hurry to wrap things up. Akmal hardly got any of the strike and when he did, he perished to R.P Singh. At the other end, Nazir was unstoppable and raced away to 33 off just 14 deliveries. It took a fine throw from Uthappa to dislodge Nazir, who was just short of the crease while attempting a risky single. As in the previous match against Pakistan, the Indian bowlers hit back and choked the Pakistani batsmen slowly. Younis, Malik and Afridi were dismissed and the scoreboard read 77/6 in 11.4 overs.

With 90 runs required and only 4 wickets in hand, team India had almost sealed the match. But Misbah was still at the crease. At the end of 16 overs, Pakistan was 104/7. With 54 runs required from 24 balls and 3 wickets in hand, even the most diehard Pakistan fan would have given up all hope. But Harbhajan Singh bowled a terrible over, in which he was smothered for three sixes. This was followed up with another bad over, this time from Sreesanth. 34 runs were scored in overs number 17 and 18. A fantastic over from R.P Singh, in which he conceded just seven runs and picked up a wicket, brought India back into the game.

Joginder Sharma was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the last over of the match. Joginder started off badly with a wide. A dot ball was followed up with a mighty six from Misbah. 6 needed from 4 balls. Surely it was game set and match for Pakistan. But redemption was not meant to be for Pakistan. A brain freeze from Misbah, resulted in him trying to scoop the ball over fine leg in spite of the presence of a fielder. The dolly was gleefully accepted by Sreesanth and all of India erupted in celebrations! It was a really stunning win and one cracker of a match. The final was a really fine advertisement for the game and led to a revolution in the sport. A few months later, the IPL was born.