Reliving how India outplayed Pakistan in the first edition of the T20 WC final

MS Dhoni and India celebrate their victory during the final match of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup

An alien format, a young team with no real heavyweights in it, seaming and swinging South African conditions, not many would have given India an iota of a chance of even making it to the semifinals, let alone becoming champions in the 2007 T20 World Cup.

All the doubts surrounding the ability of this team vanished when India made it to the finals, notching up victories against the mighty Aussies and earlier, pushing the hosts out of the event. One can be excused for losing in the early stages, but not even in the finals if it was against arch rivals, Pakistan.

Either you emerge a hero or you are deemed a villain. The team was up against Pakistan in the finals. This, was the first real test of character for a team that until now had nothing to lose. History was on India’s side. India had never lost to Pakistan at the world cup stage. Here is what unfolded at the Wanderers on that dramatic evening.

Pathan and Gambhir provide ideal start

The ‘Bull ring’, as the Wanderers is known, resembled a sea of green and blue. The intimidating atmosphere added to my tension. India lost its first wicket even before the play began! The swashbuckling Delhi opener, Sehwag had to sit out due to an injury.

The toss went India’s way and MS Dhoni had no second thoughts about batting first. India got off to a flyer, with the lesser known Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, opening up his shoulders and playing a cameo to provide impetus to the innings which so often Sehwag provided. Once he departed, the momentum was lost with Uthappa, Yuvraj and Dhoni falling cheaply.

With wickets falling around him, Gambhir took his time to settle down and once he did, he began toying with the bowlers. Some clean blows off Umar Gul, one of them hitting the electronic scoreboard at the cow-corner, got the innings back on track. He was ably supported by Rohit Sharma, who made a quick fire contribution to help India to a respectable score of 157.

The score was not huge, going by T20 standards. One good over could make or break the game for either team. The 10 minute break between the innings flooded everyone’s head with possible scenarios. What if Pakistan makes history today? Will the catch that Hafeez dropped off the last ball that went for a maximum turn out to be the game changer? The match was poised to go down to the wire.

Breakthroughs introduce panic in Pakistan camp

The Pakistan innings got off to the worst possible start with RP Singh accounting for Kamran Akmal with an away going delivery. But, Imran Nazir went berserk, treating Sreesanth with absolute disdain, thrashing him all around the park.

Uthappa’s brilliance in the field with a direct hit caught the limping Nazir short of his crease. Younis Khan’s painfully slow knock saw the required run rate shooting up. India seemed to have a stranglehold of the game with Irfan Pathan, bagging three wickets in almost no time, including that of the big fish, Shahid Afridi. What is an Indo-Pak encounter without its share of drama?

‘Mis(s)-bah five runs’ and the strange choice of Joginder Sharma

Just when it seemed it was going to be a stroll in the park for the Indian team, Misbah-Ul-Haq started making the boundary ropes appear incredibly silly. He combined with Sohail Tanvir and sent the Indian bowling on a leather hunt. The equation boiled down to 13 runs off the last over with one wicket in hand. If you thought Pakistan’s comeback was the biggest surprise, you were mistaken.

Instead, it was Dhoni’s decision to throw the ball to the inexperienced Joginder to bowl the last over in a pressure cooker situation. Cricketing pundits had no words to explain the move that left everyone baffled. Misbah’s hefty blow off the second ball stunned the Indian fans into silence. Pakistan was now one shot away from victory.

Joginder bowled a wide ball on the off-side, right in the slot for the big hit and Misbah could have deposited the ball 20 rows back, straight down the ground. Maybe, Misbah suddenly did too much of research and discovered that the fine leg boundary was shorter! In what seemed to be a brain fade, he tried a cheeky scoop over fine leg, only to find Sreesanth right under the ball. The rest, as we say, is history.

We had found unlikely heroes and a street-smart captain, who was not afraid of defying conventions and acting on instincts. The victory took the whole cricketing fraternity by surprise and the Joginder Sharma choice still remains a paradox. But ardent cricket fans, will always call it a ‘Masterstroke’.. The scenes of wild celebrations are still fresh in our hearts and will remain so for many years to come.