As we gear up for the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup to be held in USA and West Indies, we will revisit the previous editions with the focus on teams who have won the tournament.
In eight editions so far we have had six different winners with West Indies and England winning the trophy twice. So, without any further ado, we dive into India’s historic T20 World Cup in South Africa in the tournament’s edition in 2007 in South Africa.
Groupe Stage:
Team India came into the World Cup as unaware as their fans watching the new World Cup format. After the disappointing end to their ODI World Cup campaign in West Indies earlier, very few bets were placed on a young Indian team led by the inexperienced captain MS Dhoni.
India were pitted in Group D against arch-rivals Pakistan and minnows Scotland. As fate would have it, India’s first game against Scotland was washed out in Durban, meaning they came into their next match against Pakistan without any proper practice.
Pakistan put India into bat after winning the toss. Pakistan’s ruthless bowling attack, perhaps the best T20 attack of that era had India struggling at 36/4, with players like Gautam Gambhir, Virendra Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh back in the hut.
However, Robin Uthappa and MS Dhoni stitched a 36-run stand with Uthappa getting to 50 of just 39 balls, Dhoni scored 33 and cameos by Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar lifted India to 141 in 20 overs.
In response, Pakistan lost Imran Nazir early but a solid partnership between Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal steadied the ship. But the Men in Blue fought back with 3 wickets for 3 runs to leave Pakistan at 47/4. Captain Shoaib Malik then combined with Misbah-Ul-Haq to forge a 40-run stand but Malik got out in the 15th over leaving Pakistan needing 55 in 5 overs.
Dangerous Shahid Afridi departed early but Misbah carried the mantle scoring a 50. However, the game came down to needing 1 run off the last 2 balls and in stunning fashion Misbah was run-out off the last ball to tie the match. The T20 World Cup burst into life and a first ever Bowl Out took place. India beat Pakistan 3-0 in the contest to move ahead to the next round.
Super-8
India were placed against New Zealand, South Africa and England in the Super-8. In their first match, they suffered a 10-run defeat while chasing 191 for the win. This meant they had to win their next two games to progress and that is what they did.
In a high-scoring game against England, India notched up 218 runs thanks to Virendra Sehwag’s blistering 68 and Yuvraj Singh’s memorable six 6s in an over to Stuart Broad. England also went all guns blazing, but India’s bowling held on and restricted them to 200 runs.
A key encounter with South Africa was next. Batting first India scored 153 in 20 overs and once South Africa came to bat, India applied pressure throughout with R.P Singh picking 4 wickets. The Proteas never got going and could only make 116/9 in 20 overs, giving India a semi final berth.
Semi-Final
The defending ODI Champions came into the game against India as favorites. Yet again, India batted first and notched up 188/5 in 20 overs with Yuvraj Singh scoring a quickfire 70 of 30 balls. The game ebbed and flowed when Australia started off the chase.
Australia were 156/3, needing 33 off 21 balls. But then the game turned. Irfan Pathan bowled Andrew Symonds and then in the next over Michael Clarke was cleaned by Harbhajan Singh. Joginder Sharma stifled the Aussies further as India eked out a 15 run win to set up a dream final against Pakistan.
Final
For their second meeting in the tournament, India opted to bat first again. Led by Gautam Gambhir’s impressive 75 off 54 balls and Rohit Sharma’s late flourish were he scored a crucial 30 of 16 balls meant India posted a total of 157/5, with Pakistan’s Umar Gul posting impressive figures of 3/28 in his four overs.
Pakistan’s chase got off to a shaky start with Mohammad Hafeez dismissed by R.P Singh in the first over leaving Pakistan 2-1. But Imran Nazir was in rampant mood hit bowlers all over the park despite the fall of Kamran Akmal. The game turned when Nazir was run out by Uthappa and Younis Khan was sent back later with Pakistan 65/4 in 9 overs.
Wickets kept tumbling as Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi were dismissed without making an impact, with Irfan Pathan accounting for both scalps. Yasir Arafat proved to a strong ally for the lone warrior Misbah, but his dismissal meant Pakistan needed 54 in 4 overs.
Misbah then changed gears and a couple of big blows by Sohail Tanvir brough the game close. He was bowled by Pathan and Umar Gul departed on the last ball of the penultimate over as Pakistan were left needing 13 off the last over.
Joginder Sharma bowled a wide, a dot ball, was hit for a six and then with 3 balls to spare and 6 runs needed, Misbah went for an audacious scoop but the ball balloned and Sreesanth was underneath to take the catch and sent nation of a billion people into ecstasy.
MS Dhoni had led India to the T20 World Cup win and would eventually go down as the country’s most successful captain.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
