Stairway to redemption: India's 2007 T20 World Cup win over Pakistan

The Indian team celebrate their win with Misbah-ul-Haq looking on after the Twenty20 Championship Final vs. Pakistan at The Wanderers Stadium on September 24, 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Getty Images)

Given the batting firepower the neighbours packed, the game was very much in their favour. Trouble’s best friend S. Sreesanth proved to be very wayward, conceding runs in torrents, despite India getting an early breakthrough in the form of Mohammad Hafeez.

However, Irfan Pathan and Haryana all-rounder Joginder Sharma slowed down the scoring, bowling accurately and conceding lesser boundaries while managing to make further in-roads into the opposition line-up.

Just when India smelled victory, with the asking rate crossing the 12-run mark, middle-order mainstay Misbah ul-Haq turned the game on its head with three monstrous sixes off Harbhajan . He dished out the same to Sreesanth, with tail-ender Sohail Tanvir also joining the party, but the Kerala seamer took out the latter despite another expensive over.

By now, Pakistan needed just 13 runs to win and had six balls to do it in. Memories of Javed Miandad’s last-ball six still echoed in the minds of the fans. For a moment, it looked like RP Singh would take the ball, but Dhoni turned to Joginder, selecting him to send down the last six deliveries of a thrilling final.

The move seemed to have backfired; the seamer bowled a wide first up, followed by a dot ball. At each step, Dhoni would run up to Joginder, advising him to keep it simple and calm his nerves.

Despite that, the Haryana all-rounder delivered a full toss on off, which Misbah lofted back over his head for another maximum, almost disdainfully. The equation was down to six runs from four balls. Who would blink first?

Misbah-ul-Haq plays a shot to be caught to give victory to India during the Twenty20 Championship Final vs. Pakistan at The Wanderers Stadium on September 24, 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Getty Images)

Misbah did. Joginder pitched the next ball on leg, and the right-hander attempted a paddle-scoop over fine leg. Nine times out of ten, that ball would have raced away to the boundary. Every eye turned skywards as it took off. But Sreesanth, lurking around fine leg, managed to keep his focus as he ran back a few steps, before clutching it safely into his hands.

One moment of stunned silence, then the stadium exploded with wild cheers and celebrations. Misbah sat down on the pitch, on his haunches, unable to comprehend that his attempt at being cheeky had just gifted the opposition the win. The Indians were deliriousm but they were mostly relieved as they had washed off the stigma of March’s ignominy in the Caribbean.

Redemption had been achieved.

A beaming Dhoni lifted the inaugural trophy – the first Indian captain to win a World Cup in 24 years.

He would go on to repeat this feat four years later at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the ODI World Cup.

This win is still considered by some to be a fluke as the team never reached such heights again in this format. Some still say that Misbah crumbled under pressure, and perhaps he did, but he brought his side back into the match only to falter at the very end.

But a win is a win, anyway it comes.

It has been six years to the day since this spectacle was played out in front of our eyes, but in terms of the bigger picture, it carved its place in the glittering annals of cricketing history. Most of the protagonists are enjoying a second wind in their careers, and they will do so for some time.

For now though, it’s time to savour the moment when a bunch of young players triumphed over adversity in their own way.