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.
#4 Dinesh Karthik takes a blinder against South Africa
Dinesh Karthik (Source: Twitter)
In the same game, Dinesh Karthik took a stunning catch in the slips to dismiss South African skipper Graeme. The ball was travelling and Karthik took an amazing catch as a fielder and not as a wicketkeeper. This happened because MS Dhoni was behind the stumps for India in that tournament. In a low-scoring encounter, this was one of India’s biggest moments.
#3 Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes
Yuvraj Singh (Source: Twitter)
Yuvraj Singh stunned England by hitting six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad and also recorded the fastest T20 fifty off just 12 balls. Yuvraj’s onslaught off Broad took place after a heated argument with Andrew Flintoff which pumped the man from Punjab up as he deflated England’s spirits single-handedly with a superhuman batting effort. India won the game by 15 runs. Yuvraj later smashed 70 off 30 balls against Australia in a semi-final game.
#2 India-Pakistan bowl out
India-Pakistan bowl out (Source: Twitter)
India and Pakistan played a group fixture that went right down to the wire. India ended up on 141-9 in their 20 overs. Pakistan ended up on 141-7 in their 20 overs. The scores were tied and the bowl-out happened where players from both teams had to hit the stumps with the keeper standing. Like in Football, there was a scorecard after the end of three tries India won the bowl-out with strikes from Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh. Pakistan could not get a single hit onto the stumps.
#1 Joginder Sharma’s last over
Joginder Sharma (Source: Twitter)
Joginder Sharma bowled the last over of the tournament to a well-set Misbah-ul-Haq 13 was need of 6 balls. He started off with a wide. Then the next ball went for six. This meant Pakistan needed 5 off just 3 balls. Then came the moment when Misbah played a scoop shot which meant that the ball went high in the air and the catch was taken by Sreesanth. India were crowned World T20 champions.