Cricket Classics - Part Xix : 2007 T20 World Cup Final – India vs Pakistan

Hello, fellow Sports Enthusiasts,

Cricket is not just a sport between two teams; it's a battle of skills, strategy, and capitalizing on clutch moments. Although the game has transformed over the decades, it has never failed to impress or leave us with unforgettable moments.

So, through this series, I will present some of the most iconic cricket matches that have made fans jump out of their seats. Let's remember those legendary games once a week. I am with another iconic match.

Made by leonardo.ai

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This was a very special day, as it was the inaugural edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, which is still progressing. It was held in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007, with 12 teams, including Kenya, South Africa (host nation), Zimbabwe, West Indies, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, England, and Scotland.

With many interesting and thrilling matches, the final was also the same between India and Pakistan which made the fans jump in their seats.

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Indian team came under their new and young captain MS Dhoni; which created a new dawn in their Cricket. Leaving a few senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly, they were equipped with many young and exceptional talents like Yuvraj, Rohit, Gambhir, Pathan brothers, etc. They had a good run in the tournament and defeated Australia in the semi-final by 15 runs, thanks to the knock of Yuvraj. (70 off 30 balls.)

Shoaib Malik captained the Pakistan team, which had an insane balling attack with Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Sohail Tanvir, and Shahid Afridi, and some great batters as well. They were dominant throughout, only losing to India in the Group stage. Pakistan won by 6 wickets in the semifinals against Kiwis to seal their spot in the finals.

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The date was September 24, 2007, in Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, where the stadium was filled with fans. India won the toss and elected to bat. Yusuf Pathan tried to start aggressively but just scored 15 off 8 balls. Anyway, after his wicket, Uthappa, Yuvraj, and Dhoni couldn't score freely, resulting in dot balls and losing wickets.

Anyway, Gautam Gambhir (75 off 54 balls) played a gem of an inning, securing one end while scoring crucial runs quickly. Rohit Sharma pulled off a cameo later, scoring 30 off 16 balls to take the scoreboard to 157/5 in 20 overs. Umar Gul, particularly, was the real deal, taking 3 wickets for 28.

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Eventhough it was a gettable chase, Pakistan didn't get the perfect start. RP Singh sent two batters in his first two overs and kept the things tight. Anyway, Imran Nazir got the perfect use of powerplay scoring 33 runs off 14 balls. But him being run out resulted in losing 3 wickets for 53 for Pakistan inside the powerplay.

Inside the middle order, Pakistan batters couldn't freely score runs and lost regular wickets as well. RP Singh (3/26), Joginder Sharma(2/20) and Irfan Pathan (3/16) did a damn good job restricting the Pakistan batters. Once, they were 77/6 in 12 overs. Misbah-ul-Haq saved his wicket and fought till the end. In the last 4 overs, they needed 54 runs.

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Misbah-ul-Haq attacked, Harbhajan Singh and, Sreesanth and kept the hopes alive. In the final over, they just needed 13 runs, but only one wicket remained. Dhoni took a risky gamble, giving the ball to Joginder Sharma. Misbha smashed six in the second ball and was caught out while trying to scoop the ball. India won the match by 5 runs

With that, India won the first T20 World Cup. Along with that, Indian dominance began to start in World Cricket, especially highlighting the leadership of Dhoni.

See you at the next episode!! You can always suggest a match to discuss in the next episode.

src - Wikipedia
espncricinfo

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Best Regards!