6 years ago: Reliving India's T20 World Cup triumph

The Indian Team celebrate their win with Misbah-ul-Haq looking on after the Twenty20 Championship Final match between Pakistan and India at The Wanderers Stadium on September 24, 2007

After having one of the worst nightmares in the form of the 50-over World Cup in 2007, the Indian Cricket Team had a golden chance of silencing its critics six months later. The 9th edition of the ICC World Cup was held in West Indies in March-April, 2007. The other teams in India’s group were Bangladesh, Bermuda and Sri Lanka, and there was no need for the fans to think twice whether India would reach the next stage or not.

But what happened next was totally unexpected and unbelievable. India made an early exit from the tournament after winning just one match in the group stage and that too against Bermuda. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka handed defeated India easily. Fans were disappointed and at the same time angry, and the players faced harsh criticism.

But no matter what, emotional Indian fans would never stop supporting their team. And then came the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup which was hosted by South Africa in September. It was a young Indian side because the seniors, as they said, dropped themselves to give the new players a chance.

There were 3 teams in each group and this time India got its arch rival Pakistan, along with Scotland. India’s first match against Scotland was abandoned due to rain. Then the world witnessed an epic match between India and Pakistan which will be remembered for a long time to come. Chasing a target of 141 set by India, Pakistan also ended up with the same score and the match had to be decided through a first of its kind bowl-out, which India won 3-0.

India cleared the group stage to enter the Super Eight where it had to face tough opponents like New Zealand, England and South Africa. In order to qualify for the semi-finals, a team needed to register two wins from three matches and India lost its first Super Eight match to New Zealand. Now, India had to win every match to progress in the tournament.

On 19th September, India faced England. This match can be tagged as the most entertaining match of all time. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir scored quickly as they put up 136 runs for the opening stand. But the first name that comes to mind when this match is discussed was still to come; Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj not only scored the fastest fifty in an official T20 international, but also became the fourth cricketer in all official forms of cricket (and the first in T20) to hit 6 sixes in an over.

Yuvraj Singh slammed 6 sixes off England’s Stuart Broad at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban

Stuart Broad was the unlucky bowler. A few exchanged words between Andrew Flintoff and Yuvraj were also seen prior to the 36-run over. India (218-4) defeated England (200-6) by 18 runs as South Africa awaited the men in blue.

The in-form team of South Africa was seen as a threat to India advancing in the tournament. But a comfortable 37-run win by India ensured that they had a place in the semi finals. Posting a total of 153 runs batting first, India’s Rohit Sharma, making his debut, top scored with an unbeaten 50 of 40 balls. RP Singh made sure that South African batsmen reached nowhere close to the target as he picked up 4 wickets for just 13 runs in his 4 overs.

India had entered the semi-finals and a thrilling contest was lined up as they faced Australia. There was nervousness all around. But once again, with the heroics of Yuvraj Singh, India posted a huge total of 188 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Yuvraj made 70 runs from just 30 balls which included 5 fours and 5 sixes. He also hit the longest six of the tournament (119 m) off Brett Lee’s bowling.

India had given the Aussies a tough target, but they could not take a team with the likes of Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds lightly. The pick of the Indian bowlers was S. Sreesanth who sent both the openers back to the pavilion in a similar fashion. He broke Gilchrist’s stumps, who managed only 22 runs and later did the same to Hayden (62).

Andrew Symonds then tried to put up a fight by scoring a quick-fire 43 runs off 26 balls but was removed by Irfan Pathan. The target was looking more and more daunting for the Aussies. And by the end, the Indians were celebrating when 20 runs were needed off the last ball. Harbhajan Singh was even seen doing bhangra on the boundary line. India advanced to the final of the T20 World Cup at the expense of Australia, winning by 15 runs.

Austalia’s Matthew Hayden leaves the ground after being clean bowled by Indian pacer Sreesanth in the second semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban

There could not be anything better than facing Pakistan in the final. Pakistan had never beaten India in an official World Cup match till date. It was 24th September, 2007 at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg; the same ground where India lost the World Cup final to Australia in 2003.

India won the toss and elected to bat first. Virender Sehwag’s injury in the semi-final led to the inclusion of Yusuf Pathan, who was playing his debut. Yusuf hit a huge six in the first over bowled by Mohammad Asif but failed to put up a big score as he was dismissed for 15. It was Gautam Gambhir who stood up and decided to go after the Pakistan bowlers as he scored a helpful 75 runs off 54 balls. Other than Gambhir, Rohit Sharma added 30 runs from 16 balls. But India did not manage to set up a commanding total on a batsman-friendly pitch as they ended up scoring just 157 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.

Pakistan needed 158 runs from 120 balls to win the championship. Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Nazir were all set to start off the innings and for India as RP Singh had the new ball. On the fifth delivery, the ball took an outside edge of Hafeez’s bat and went straight into the hands of Robin Uthappa who was in the slips. Sreesanth was given the next over but he was hit for 21 runs by Imran Nazir. Pakistan were off to a good start with 25 runs on the scoreboard in 2 overs.

And then, the drama began. Kamran Akmal faced 4 deliveries and lost his off stump to RP Singh without scoring. Sreesanth came back strongly with a maiden over. Imran Nazir was on fire as he had hit 33 runs from just 14 balls before a sharp direct hit by Robin Uthappa in the sixth over removed him. Joginder Sharma was the first change bowler for India and he struck in the ninth over. Younis Khan (24) who attempted a big shot could not connect well and ended up giving a simple catch to Yusuf Pathan.

At the end of eleventh over, Pakistan had put up 76 runs and lost 4 wickets. It was still anybody’s game. But Irfan Pathan, who bowled the 12th over, turned the game in India’s favor by picking up two crucial wickets. First, he had Shoaib Malik caught at mid-wicket for just 8 and then sent the big hitter, Shahid Afridi back to the pavilion, who had faced just one ball. Misbah and Yasir Arafat tried to steady things for Pakistan but on the last ball of the 16th over, Irfan struck once again by shattering Arafat’s stumps and completing an excellent spell.

Pakistan required 54 more from just 24 balls. Harbhajan Singh was given the 17th over to get his yorkers right but couldn’t do much as Misbah went after him by hitting three huge sixes and keeping Pakistan’s hopes alive. The next over bowled by Sreesanth saw 15 runs before he bowled Sohail Tanvir (12). RP Singh had to bowl a tight 19th over and he did. He gave India one more wicket as he ended the match for Umar Gul (0). The match was down to the last over in which Pakistan had to hit 13 more runs and India needed just one wicket to win. The Indian captain, MS Dhoni had two options – either the experienced Harbhajan Singh or the new boy Joginder Sharma. And the new captain shocked everyone as he called up Joginder Sharma to bowl the final over.

Joginder ran in to deliver the first ball and bowled a wide. Misbah missed the next one and then with 12 needed from 5, Joginder bowled a full-toss to which Misbah responded in a flash and sent the ball into the stands with a huge hit. Pakistan were just one hit away and they had 4 more balls to do so. But what happened next was something which no one would have expected. Misbah tried to clear short fine-leg by shuffling across the off stump and playing a scoop shot, but all he could manage was gifting his wicket as Sreesanth took a simple catch under high pressure.

The Indian team celebrates with the trophy after the Twenty20 Championship Final match between Pakistan and India at The Wanderers Stadium on September 24, 2007

India had won the Inaugural T20 World Cup! Celebrations and fireworks started as soon as the Indian players and fans realized what had happened. This was a hard fought victory for the Indian team which was not expected to win when the tournament commenced. Irfan Pathan was awarded the Man of the Match for his match-winning spell of 4 overs in which he conceded just 16 runs and picked up 3 crucial wickets. Shahid Afridi was declared the Man of the Series. And India had successfully found a new captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni.