T20 World Cup 2021: 5 memorable knocks by Indian batters in the past editions

The seventh edition of the ICC T20 World Cup is right around the corner. The marquee T20 event will kickstart with the Qualifiers round on October 17. There the likes of Oman, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland and PNG will fight it out to bag the four remaining spots in the Super-12.

Team India will open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on October 24. The Virat Kohli-led unit will look to repeat the heroics from their 2007 campaign and win the T20 World Cup title for the first time since the inaugural edition.

While we wait for the latest round of memorable knocks from the likes of Kohli, Sharma and Rahul in the tournament, let us rewind the clock and re-live some of the unforgettable knocks Indian batters have played in the T20 World Cup over the years.

On that note, here's a look at the top five knocks by Indian batters in T20 WCs:

#5 Rohit Sharma- 50* (40) vs South Africa, Durban, 2007 T20 WC

Rohit Sharma had a memorable 2007 T20 World Cup campaign.

Rohit Sharma gave a sneak peek into the future during his maiden outing in Indian colours. That happened during the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 against a high-quality South African pace battery.

In a must-win Super-8 game, Team India started on the back foot even before the first ball was delivered, as the in-form Yuvraj Singh got ruled out due to injury.

Things got worse when the MS Dhoni-led unit got reduced to 61/4 as Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel knocked over the cream of the Indian batting unit. Gautam Gambhir (19 off 19), Virender Sehwag (11 off 11), Dinesh Karthik (0 off 1) and Robin Uthappa (15 off 16) were back in the hut.

Enter a 19-year-old Rohit Sharma. The stylish Mumbai batter weathered the storm beautifully in the company of captain MS Dhoni (45 off 33 balls). The duo racked up an 85-run-stand for the fifth wicket. It was fitting that Sharma completed his maiden half-century with his trademark pull shot on the last ball of the innings.

India eventually posted 153/5 in their allotted twenty overs, which proved to be more than enough. That's because the seam-bowling attack of RP Singh, S Sreesanth and Irfan Pathan wreaked havoc as India set up a semi-final clash with mighty Australia.

Expectedly, Rohit Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Match for his game-changing knock of 50* off 40 balls.

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#4 Virat Kohli- 72* (44) vs South Africa, Dhaka, 2014 T20 WC S/F

Virat Kohli lets out a guttural roar after leading his team to the final of the 2014 T20 WC. [Image- Getty]

The 'Chase Master' was once again in his elements on the night of the semi-final against South Africa on a slow Dhaka track in the 2014 edition of the World T20.

Chasing a stiff target of 170 in a knockout game can be a tricky proposition. But it was not the case when there was one Virat Kohli at the height of his powers in the team.

It was a typical Kohli knock where he ran hard between the wickets. He converted ones into two by dissecting the gaps with surgical precision, while also smashing the poor deliveries past the boundary ropes.

Kohli added 66 priceless runs for the third wicket with Yuvraj Singh (18 off 17) before accumulating a game-changing 34 runs with Suresh Raina (21 off 10) in just 2.3 overs.

The champion batter smashed two boundaries off Dale Steyn in the 18th over. Kohli backed that up with another four in the 19th to leave it to MS Dhoni to hit the winning runs.

However, Dhoni blocked the final delivery of the 19th over to give Kohli a chance to finish off the game. Kohli did that in style, smashing Steyn for another four over mid-wicket before letting out a guttural roar.

Kohli backed that up with another brilliant knock in the final against Sri Lanka, but, unfortunately his effort came in a losing cause.

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#3 Gautam Gambhir - 75 (54) vs Pakistan, Jo'burg, 2007 T20 WC Final

ICC Twenty20 Final - Pakistan vs India

Somewhere between Joginder Sharma claiming the final wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq and Irfan Pathan's match-winning spell, one tends to overlook the impact of the knock Gautam Gambhir played in the 2007 T20 Cup final.

With Virender Sehwag not available due to injury, the onus was on his opening partner, Gambhir, to spearhead the innings against a high-quality Pakistan attack. That is exactly what the gritty left-hander did on the day. The importance of Gambhir's knock can be gauged from the fact that apart from him, none of the other top five Indian batters scored even 20.

The Delhi player kept the scoreboard ticking during the powerplay and during the middle overs against the likes of Shahid Afridi and Mohammed Hafeez. Gambhir's knock of 75 (54) provided the ideal launching pad for Rohit Sharma, who smashed an unbeaten 30 off 16 balls to take India to an eventual match-winning total of 157-5.

The rest, as they say, is history.

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#2 Virat Kohli- 82* (51) vs Australia, Mohali, T20 WC 2016

Virat Kohli played a memorable innings. [Image- Twitter]

27 March, 2016: India (Virat Kohli) vs Australia. It was a must-win game for the hosts as far as their hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the T20 WC were concerned.

Kohli carried the batting unit throughout that tournament in the lead-up to the all-important game against the Aussies. He had already scored an unbeaten match-winning 50 against arch-rivals Pakistan to keep the country's proud record of not losing to their neighbours in WC events.

On 27th March 2016, the champion player was tasked with yet another challenge as the home sides' chances of making it to the semis hung by a proverbial thread.

On a sluggish track, Australia batted first and posted 160/6 in their allotted twenty overs.

India never really got going in their run chase, as the top order sans Kohli failed to adapt to the nature of the surface. By the time Yuvraj Singh got dismissed for an 18-ball 21, India needed 67 runs off the last six overs.

But Kohli, the freak that he is, took the challenge head-on. He ran between the wickets with MS Dhoni as if his life depended on it. The manner in which he dissected the gaps and converted ones into twos, even a surgeon would have been proud of the precision work.

Kohli combined his running between the wickets with a calculated assault launched to perfection.

With 39 needed off 18 balls, Kohli smashed James Faulkner for 4,4,6 off the first three deliveries before sprinting like Usain Bolt to rub salt in Australia's wounds by converting more ones into twos.

The next over proved to be a clincher, as he took Nathan Coulter-Nile for four boundaries to effectively seal the deal. Dhoni provided the finishing touch in the final over. As Virat Kohli sunk to his knees to soak in what he'd just achieved, the stands erupted to give a standing ovation to the modern-day great.

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#1 Yuvraj Singh- 70 (30) vs Australia, Durban, T20 WC 2007 S/F

Yuvraj Singh's six sixes against England in the 2007 T20 World Cup have become part of folklore, But somewhere down the line, his knock of 70 (30) against Australia in the semi-final gets overshadowed when ones recalls India's triumphant campaign.

Yes, the six sixes against England were a colossal feat. But it was his whirlwind 70 off 30 that really set Team India on their path to becoming the inaugural T20 World Cup champions.

India were in a spot of bother at 41/2 after eight overs during their semi-final clash against Australia when Singh came out to bat. With Brett Lee breathing fire, it looked like Yuvraj Singh's wicket would be the key for Australia in the grander scheme of things.

And, then, the left-hander nonchalantly flicked the express pacer for a six over deep square-leg. In Harsha Bhogle's words: "This was Yuvraj unleashed, absolutely unleashed".

What followed next was absolute carnage, as Yuvraj Singh (70 off 30 deliveries), along with Robin Uthappa (34 off 28) and MS Dhoni (36* off 18), steamrolled Australia's bowling.

Singh eventually holed out at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Michael Clarke. But by then, the Punjab batter ensured India were well on their way to a huge total. India posted 188/5 in their twenty overs, which they successfully defended to set up a grand finale against arch-rivals Pakistan.