India's playing XI in the 2007 World T20 final: Where are they now?
On this day 14 years ago, India won its first-ever ICC T20 World Cup. Playing against arch-rivals Pakistan in the summit clash, the Indian team scored 157/5 after winning the toss and electing to bat in Johannesburg.
The T20 World Cup Pakistan squad's batting unit collapsed, and the Men in Green were down to 77/6 at one stage. However, Misbah-ul-Haq's half-century brought them back into the match. The game went down to the wire as Pakistan needed 13 from the last six balls, with only one wicket in hand.
Joginder Sharma was assigned the task of bowling the last over. The medium pacer started the over with a wide and then got hit for a maximum. But he dismissed Misbah on the third delivery as India beat Pakistan by five runs.
In this article, we will take a look at India's playing XI from that match and where those players are now.
Openers - Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan
Gautam Gambhir opened the innings for India along with debutant Yusuf Pathan. Gambhir played the anchor's role in that match, aggregating 75 runs off 54 deliveries, while Pathan got India off to a flier, smashing 15 runs off eight deliveries.
Both batters have now retired from all forms of cricket. While Gambhir is now a politician, Pathan played in the Road Safety World Series and also enrolled his name for the Lanka Premier League.
Middle Order - Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma
Robin Uthappa, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma formed the Indian team's middle-order in the 2007 T20 World Cup Final. While Uthappa and Dhoni lost their wickets in single digits, Sharma played a handy knock of 30 runs from 16 deliveries.
Sharma and Uthappa are still active as international players. While Uthappa has been out of the Indian team for quite some time, Sharma is currently the vice-captain in limited-overs formats. Dhoni has retired from international cricket but is playing for CSK in the IPL.
All-rounders - Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan and Joginder Sharma
India included three all-rounders in their playing XI for the big game. The in-form Yuvraj Singh failed to make an impact. But Irfan Pathan won the Man of the Match award for his 3/16, while Joginder Sharma bowled the crucial last over in the contest.
All three players are no longer a part of the Indian team. Yuvraj and Irfan have retired and are playing in various T20 competitions. Meanwhile, Joginder is working as a DSP for Haryana Police.
Check out the list of players holding the T20 World Cup Man of the Series awards.
Bowlers - Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth and RP Singh
Harbhajan Singh was the primary spin bowler in the Indian team's playing XI for the final. RP Singh and Sreesanth led the Indian pace attack. The three bowlers accounted for four Pakistani wickets that day. While Harbhajan remained wicketless, Sreesanth had figures of 1/44 and RP Singh picked up three wickets.
RP Singh has retired from international cricket and works as a cricket expert now. Harbhajan and Sreesanth are still active and aim to be back in the Indian team for one last run.
It will be interesting to see if the T20 World Cup 2007 heroes can make a comeback.