OTD: India lift inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2007 by defeating Pakistan in final
September 24, 2007, an unforgettable date for Indian cricket. On this day, India won their first major ICC title in the form of the ICC T20I World Cup after the 1983 World Cup triumph. It was more than just a final for Team India; it was a dream for crores of Indian cricket fans.
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September 24, 2007, an unforgettable date for Indian cricket. On this day, India won their first major ICC title in the form of the ICC T20I World Cup after the 1983 World Cup triumph. It was more than just a final for Team India; it was a dream for crores of Indian cricket fans.
In the final in Johannesburg, India met their archrival, Pakistan. The match went into the final over after a rollercoaster ride. MS Dhoni, then the captain of Team India, made an unthinkable decision to protect their first innings 157 runs. Misbah-ul-Haq took Pakistan close to the target and needed only a few runs in the final over to claim the trophy.
Harbhajan Singh proved expensive in the final, especially after Misbah's three sixes against him. Before the decisive over of the match, Dhoni had already utilized the 4-over limits of RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, and S Sreesanth, which left Singh and a young Joginder Sharma available for the 20th over. Yusuf Pathan was there, but he was not a full-time bowler. Either Dhoni had to go with Harbhajan or with Sharma. He chose Sharma.
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India won the 2007 World Cup
The emerging pacer had very little experience in international cricket; on the other side, experienced Misbah-ul-Haq was on the flow. On the third ball of the over, when the batter was on individual 43, he made a mistake, which let Pakistan down and let India, winner of the ICC T20I World Cup 2007, win. Pakistan needed 6 runs in 3 balls, so Misbah decided to scoop the ball to find the boundary rope. He was successfully able to connect with the ball but did not get the distance. Sreesanth was there in the right position, near the boundary line, at the deep fine leg region.
Under immense pressure, Sreesanth was not able to properly hold the ball, but he did not drop it and completed the catch process to win the prestigious trophy. India won the ICC T20I World Cup by only 5 runs.
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