Reliving India's maiden World T20 win

Raja
Pakistan v India - Twenty20 Championship Final
Team India celebrating the T20 World Cup 2007 win

6 needed off 4, Joginder Sharma the bowler. Misbah scoops over short fine leg. Didn't quite time the ball well. Sreesanth underneath it and taken. The Indian coaching staff rush to the ground as the Indian team starts celebrating. Misbah sits dejected in the ground. He knows he missed it. He could have done it better.

Ridiculous! Why am I saying all this? I mean who would have forgotten this iconic match?

Iconic because the World T20 victory turned the fortunes of the Indian team. It also marked the beginning of a new era- the Dhoni era in the Indian Cricket. An early exit from the 2007 ODI world up and going into the tournament without the likes of Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid nobody would have bet India emerging victorious in the tournament.

India lacked the experience and firepower unlike other teams but what they had was a bunch of determined players and a shrewd captain. India entered the tournament as underdogs and ended up winning the title. Let's relive the successful campaign of the Indian Cricket team.


India did it again to Pakistan- This time in World T20

India v Pakistan - ICC Twenty20 World Championship
India v Pakistan - ICC Twenty20 World Championship

India and Pakistan were in the same group and match between them was expected to be a cracker of a contest. The match lived up to the expectations as the match ended in a draw. India and Pakistan were involved in a bowl out, the first of its kind, to decide the winner.

Sehwag, Harbhajan and Uthappa all hit the target for India while Pakistan's Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi missed. India won the bowl out 3-0 thus maintaining their clean sheet against Pakistan in World Cup matches.

Pakistan had already beaten Scotland in their first fixture and thus the match's result did not affect the proceedings of Pakistan-India. India, on the other hand, had only one point prior to the match as their match against Scotland was washed out due to rain.

They needed to win against Pakistan to reach the Super 8s, which they did.

In the Super 8s, India was to face New Zealand, England and South Africa.

Yuvraj Singh slams Stuart Broad

England v India - Twenty20 Super Eights
England v India - Twenty20 Super Eights

This is another reason for this World Cup to be remembered. Having lost their first Super Eight fixture against New Zealand narrowly by 10 runs, India required to win both their remaining matches to stay alive in the tournament.

First of such match was against England. This match is largely remembered because of Yuvraj's onslaught. In the 19th over of India's inning, Indian all-rounder smashed six sixes off Stuart Broad bowling. He reached his half-century off just 12 balls, fastest in any format.

India scored huge 218 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, England fell short by 18 runs.

India made South Africa choke again

Indian players celebrating after their win against South Africa
Indian players celebrating after their win against South Africa

A kind of match when a win would also be not enough for progression to the next round. In a similar match, South Africa, the unbeaten team in the tournament, were up against the Men in Blue. India suffered a huge blow when Yuvraj Singh, the hero from the previous match was ruled out due to injury.

Batting first, India scored 153-5 under challenging conditions. It was not a score to threaten the star-studded South African batting line up. Even in case of loss, they needed to score only 126 runs to qualify for the semifinal. So, India was left with the daunting task of restricting South Africa before 126.

The Indian bowlers bowled out of their skin. RP Singh led the Indian defence as he picked 4 wickets ably supported by Harbhajan and Sreesanth. The duo picked two wickets each.

The choking tendencies of the Proteas once again came to fore as the South African team could score only 116-9 in 20 overs. The South African team choked once again in big tournaments as they fell short of qualification target by 10 runs, losing the match by 37 runs.

Yuvraj Singh show once again

India v Australia - Twenty20 Cup Semi Final
India v Australia - Twenty20 Cup Semi Final- Sreesanth gets Hayden out

In the semifinal, India were up against the World Champions Australia. Many thought it to be the end of the tourney for the Indian team. Australia was still a force to reckon with and was far superior to the Indian team. Yuvraj returned to the team after missing the match against South Africa.

He took on the Australian bowlers as he slammed five fours and as many sixes en route his 30 balls 70. The southpaw hit the longest six of the tournament, 119 m, of Brett Lee's delivery in this match. On the back of Yuvraj's spectacular knock, Team India scored massive 188 runs.

Chasing 189, Hayden and Gilchrist got their team off to a blazing start. Hayden scored a brilliant 47 ball 62 before getting bowled to Sreesanth. Symonds threatened to take the game away but was done by an Irfan Pathan's delivery. Ultimately, India won by 15 runs to set a title clash with Pakistan.

A Nail-biting finale

Pakistan v India - Twenty20 Championship Final
Pakistan v India - Twenty20 Championship Final

The tournament got the fitting finale it deserved. Arch-rivals India and Pakistan were against each other for the title clash. The Asian giants played a match to be etched in fans memory forever.

Winning the toss, India elected to bat first. India started poorly as Yusuf Pathan departed in the third over itself. Dhoni, Yuvraj and Uthappa could also not contribute more but Gambhir stood there and played a career-defining knock.

Facing 54 balls, he scored 75 in a high profile finale. Late blows from Rohit Sharma meant India set a competitive target of 158. Pakistan too started poorly as they lost their first wicket in the first over itself. Kamran Akmal was dismissed for a duck making it 26-2 after 2.3 overs.

Vital contributions from Younis Khan, Imran Nazir and Misbah kept Pakistan in contention. 13 was required off the last over and with set Misbah at the crease, the game was nicely poised.

The equation was later reduced to six off four after a wide delivery and later a six from Misbah gave Indian fans a mini heart attack. The game could have gone in anyone's favour as Pakistan had only a wicket left.

It was all up to Misbah, who on the third ball of the 20th Over decided to play a wrong shot over the short fine leg to end all the hopes for Pakistan. India became the inaugural World T20 champions.

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Edited by Naveen K