Analysis
OTD: India’s 2007 T20 World Cup victory , 5 moments from the victorious campaign
The 2007 T20 World Cup was a wonderful tournament for Indian cricket. It will always have a great place in the hearts of Indian cricket fans. MS Dhoni-led a young Indian side to their first World Cup title. The senior players in Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid did not take part in the tournament. India beat Pakistan in a breathtaking final by 5 runs. This tournament was the coming of MS Dhoni who would go on to win two more World events later.
The Men in Blue have not been the same in T20 World Cups as they were in the 2007 edition. They reached the finals seven years later in 2014. South Africa had varied conditions in different venues but the Indians were up to the task. The bowlers did well and India also had left-arm pace options in the form of Irfan Pathan and RP Singh which set them apart in that edition. The Men in Blue had nothing to lose and they went on to play amazing cricket.
It had to be kept in mind that the 2007 T20 World Cup triumph came after the 2007 ODI World Cup debacle in the Caribbean. To add to this there was the Greg Chapell saga as well which had given a huge blow to Indian cricket. Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad went to the tournament as coaches and Lalchand Rajput went to South Africa as manager of the India Team. Little did they know what was in store. Let us take a look at India’s top 5 moments for India from that tournament.
#5 RP Singh’s opening spell against South Africa
RP Singh (Source: Twitter)
In a low-scoring encounter, India made 153-5 on the back of Rohit Sharma’s 50 off 40 balls with seven fours and two sixes. MS Dhoni scored 45 off 33 balls with four fours and one six. In the second innings, India’s game-changer with the ball was RP Singh as he picked 4-13 in his four overs. The left-armer accounted for Hershelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Shaun Pollock and Albie Morkel.
