Sporting contests to remember: The beginning a new era for Indian cricket - 2007 T20 WC

T20 cricket was introduced at the international level by the ICC in the year 2005. Since then, it has come a long way. It has not only become the most popular format of the game but has also been accepted as an integral part of the sport. And of course, there is no denying of the fact that audience goes gaga over it. The entertainment which T20 cricket provides can’t be experienced in ODIs or Test cricket. The sky high sixes, last over finishes, dancing cheerleaders and uncertainties of the game make spectators go crazy over it.

Over the years, T20 cricket has witnessed a lot of jaw-dropping matches, but out of all the matches, the best T20 encounter still remains the grand finale between arch-rivals India and Pakistan at the Wanderers in South Africa. India and Pakistan had played each other earlier in the tournament in a group game where India emerged victorious after outclassing Pakistan in the bowl-out contest, by 3-0. This gave India the psychological advantage over their opponents.

But this was not enough to send shivers down the spine of Pakistan team as they too had an extraordinary tournament, winning all the matches they played except the one against India. So this was going to be a cracker of a contest and both the teams were feeling the heat.

The match started at the Wanderers in Johannesburg with Dhoni’s luck striking again. India won the toss and chose to bat. This had been India strategy so far in the tournament, to put up big scores on the board and then defend it with their descent bowling attack. Gautam Gambhir and Yusuf Pathan, who made his international debut in the finals as a replacement for injured Sehwag, went out to bat. But soon, India suffered a big blow as Pathan got out on mere 15 runs. Robin Uthappa, who was in blazing form throughout the tournament, came at one down. The spectators had high hopes from him but he also couldn’t handle the pressure of the finals and got out after making just 8 runs.

Then came Yuvraj Singh, one of the most prominent hitters in the Indian batting line up but he didn’t even get a chance to free his hands as Pakistan’s bowlers cramped him for room. On the other hand, Gambhir kept the scoreboard going and slowly and steadily, India reached the 100 run mark. No sooner the Indian innings got stabilised, India again found themselves in trouble with Yuvraj Singh getting out, caught and bowled by Umar Gul.

The Indian captain MS Dhoni was the next man in. He came to bat at number 5 and was another one to bite the dust as he was bowled by Gul on only 6 runs. The wickets continued to fall and Indians didn’t have enough runs on board. But it was due to Gambhir’s exceptional resistance against the fiery Pakistan bowling and mesmerizing display of pure hitting by Rohit Sharma, who made 30 runs off just 16 deliveries, that India posted a decent total 157 on the board. Gambhir played a fine innings of 75 runs off 54 balls and was the highest scorer in India’s innings.

Now, Pakistan were just 158 runs away from lifting the World Cup and they were the favourites to win as they had the required batting fire power to do so. But India struck early as Pakistan’s openers Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal were sent back to the dressing room by the end of the 3rd over by R.P. Singh. But this didn’t stop Pakistan’s attack on Indian bowling as they reached the 50-run mark in no time. There was a serious need for a wicket for India, to get back in the game and it came due to a brilliant fielding effort by Uthappa, resulting in a run-out of dangerous looking Imran Nazir.

Shoaib Malik came to bat at no. 5 and started building a partnership with Younus Khan. Pakistan was going good until Irfan Pathan came on to bowl. He dismissed the Pakistan captain and the in-form Shahid Afridi in a single over, bringing India back into the game big time. At 77/6, Pakistan was on the verge of defeat and it was clearly India’s game. But how fortunes change in the shortest format of the game, was very much visible in this match.

Misbah-ul-Haq, came to bat at the no.6 position and started scoring runs quickly for the team. He made everyone move to the edge of their seats when he hit 19 runs in the 18th over by Harbhajan Singh. Many started believing that he had pulled off victory from the jaws of defeat for Pakistan.

This match went right down the wire, with Pakistan needing 13 runs from the last over. It became even more tense when Dhoni played a big gamble by asking Joginder Sharma to bowl the crucial over. The first ball of the over was a wide and the second went for a six. Pakistan were only one big hit away from the World Championship title, requiring just 6 runs off 4 balls. But as mentioned earlier, you never know when fortunes change in the shortest format of the game. Misbah-ul-Haq, who had batted brilliantly throughout the match, tried to play a scoop shot over the short fine leg fielder, couldn’t get hold of it properly and the ball disappeared into Sreesanth’s waiting hands at the edge of the circle. Pakistan’s last wicket had fallen and India had become the first ever T20 World Champions.

This was the greatest moment in the history of Indian cricket after 25th June, 1983 when Kapil Dev lifted the ODI World Cup. This marked the beginning of the new era for the Indian cricket under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. After this emphatic win, India’s rise to the no. 1 spot started.

Continuing the winning saga, India played exceptional cricket over the years and in the 2011 ICC World Cup, after a shaky start, went on to become the world champions by defeating Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka convincingly during the business stages of the tournament. Therefore, it won’t be incorrect to say that the T20 World Cup win in 2007 marked the beginning of a new era for Indian cricket.