World T20 2007: Top 3 moments which suggested MS Dhoni is here to stay as India captain
A bunch of young turks led by a young captain in MS Dhoni stuttered, fumbled, and then powered on to the final where they overcame a thrilling finale to topple Pakistan and give India their first ICC title for the first time since 1983.
Before the tournament started, pundits were sceptical about India's chances as the side was inexperienced and India had played a grand total of two T20I games before the inaugural World T20.
India claimed the first ever @T20WorldCup trophy #OTD in 2007 🏆 https://t.co/ySKx6NyO1J
However, India were unbridled in their approach and in many ways, that gave them a lot of hope as the country rejoiced after the heartbreak suffered in the 2007 50-overs World Cup.
In MS Dhoni, India got a captain who was not adverse to taking risks and backing players to not only fail, but also perform to their best potential. In the competition, MS Dhoni gave glimpses of why he was the captain who was going to serve India for a long time.
Here we take a look at 3 tactical moves which proved MS Dhoni was in for the long haul for India:
1.) Bowling Robin Uthappa in the bowlout
After India's first match of the tournament against Scotland was washed out, they faced Pakistan, and the match ended in a tie. Back then, there was a bowlout that decided the winner and it was a novel experience for players and fans alike.
MS Dhoni opted for Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa - only 1 regular bowler and this tactic played rich dividends as all of them hit the stumps. On the other hand, Pakistan used Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, and Yasir Arafat - but all three missed the stumps.
#OnThisDay in 2007, India v Pakistan at #WT20 ended with scores level, and India won a bowl-out 3-0 in a thrilling tie in Durban! https://t.co/dXf27ruAm8
Bowling Uthappa was a genius move as the right-hander practiced this art in the nets.
“MS was right behind the stumps. It just made it easier because we felt we just need to bowl to MS, and we will give ourselves best chances of hitting the stumps. That’s what we did,” Uthappa said in a show, hailing the tactical prowess of Dhoni.
2.) Harbhajan Singh vs Australia, semi-finals
In the semi-final, Yuvraj Singh fired India to 188 in their 20 overs, but Australia got off to a rollicking start. Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and then Andrew Symonds kept Australia in the hunt, but MS Dhoni never blinked.
When the equation got tricky, MS Dhoni handed the ball to Harbhajan Singh, a rather risky move considering the boundary dimensions. However, the off-spinner brought all his experience into play as he fired in pin-point yorkers to make life difficult for the Aussie batters.
In his 4 overs, he conceded just 24 runs and got an important wicket of Michael Clarke as India edged past Australia by 15 runs to book their spot in the final.
3.) Joginder Sharma vs Pakistan, Final
India were in the ascendancy for a major part of the final. However, Pakistan hit back as Misbah-ul-Haq launched an all-out attack on the Indian bowlers. It all came down to the last over where Pakistan needed 13 runs and Misbah was in hot hitting form. Dhoni had the option of going with the experience of Harbhajan Singh, but he tossed the ball to rookie Joginder Sharma.
“Don’t think about the runs that they need, think about your bowling. If you get hit, don’t over-think, just concentrate on the next ball. Whatever is the result, be confident you have my support,” Joginder said in an interview revealing what Dhoni conveyed to him.
He was nervous, bowled a wide, then Misbah smacked him for a six. But he followed it with a slower ball outside the off stump that Misbah wanted to scoop over short fine leg. However, the lack of pace ensured the ball did not have the legs and Sreesanth pouched the catch at fine leg to give India the title.