NEW DELHI: It was on September 24, 2007, when MS Dhoni-led India managed to win the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup.
The tournament was held in South Africa and the finals was played between India and Pakistan at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
In the match against Pakistan, India won the toss and opted to bat first.
Virender Sehwag was ruled out of the match due to an injury and as a result, Yusuf Pathan and Gautam Gambhir came out to open the batting. Yusuf Pathan (15) hit one four and one six to let India get off to a flier, but he was sent back to the pavilion by Mohammad Asif in the third over. Robin Uthappa (8) was also sent back cheaply, and as a result, India was reduced to 40/2.
Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh then retrieved the innings for India as the duo put on 63 runs for the fourth wicket. The Men in Blue, however, kept on losing wickets at regular intervals after the departure of Yuvraj (14) in the 14th over.
However, Gambhir managed to hold the fort for the Dhoni-led side and he went on to play a knock of 75 from just 54 balls with the help of eight fours and two sixes.
In the end, Rohit Sharma played a cameo of 30 runs of just 16 balls to take India’s total to 157/5.
Defending 157, India came out all guns blazing as Pakistan was reduced to 77/6 with all their big guns like Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik sent back to the pavilion. But, Misbah-ul-Haq did not give up hope and he started hammering Indian bowlers all around the park and he brought the equation really close for Pakistan.
In the final over, Pakistan needed 13 to win and Dhoni opted for Joginder Sharma to bowl the six deliveries. Misbah hammered the second delivery of the over for a six, and India’s hope of winning the match looked glim. However, on the third delivery of the over, Misbah went for a scoop shot only to hand a simple catch to Sreesanth.
As a result, India won the finals by five runs and took home the coveted T20 trophy. After this, Dhoni went on to lift two more ICC trophies — 50-over World Cup 2011 and Champions Trophy 2013. Yuvraj Singh was the standout performer for India in the 2007 T20 World Cup as he hit six 6s in an over bowled by England’s Stuart Broad.
He also played a memorable knock of 70 runs against Australia in the semi-finals. (ANI)
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