Rohit Sharma led India to their second T20 World Cup title almost three months ago in Barbados. It took the team a staggering 17 years to win the World Cup in the shortest format despite being home to the best T20 league in the world – Indian Premier League (IPL). In fact, the T20 World Cup win exactly 17 years ago on this day changed Indian cricket completely as the BCCI, who was earlier against the T20 format, launched the cash-rich league the very next year, and the rest is history.
On September 24, 2007, under MS Dhoni’s astute captaincy, India won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, beating arch-rivals Pakistan by just five runs. “In the air…Sreesanth takes it. India win.” These words of Ravi Shastri are part of cricketing folklore, and even today, his voice in the last over of that final gives goosebumps to every Indian cricket fan.
India were dealt a huge blow ahead of the final as Virender Sehwag got injured and was ruled out. Yusuf Pathan made his debut and was right away backed to open the innings alongside Gautam Gambhir with India opting to bat first after winning the toss. However, the new opening partnership didn’t last long, with Pathan getting out to Mohammad Asif after scoring only 15 runs.
Robin Uthappa followed soon, and in came the man in form, Yuvraj Singh, who was coming off six sixes in an over against England and 70 off 30 against Australia in the semi-final. He struggled during his stay in the middle but made sure to hang around as Gambhir took charge in their 63-run partnership. The latter scored 75 runs off just 54 balls, but India lost him, Yuvraj, and MS Dhoni in quick succession with not many runs on the board.
At 130/5 in the 18th over, Pakistan would’ve hoped to restrict the men in blue to less than 150. But little did they know that a certain Rohit Sharma, a finisher then, was waiting eagerly for his opportunity. He slammed an unbeaten 30 to propel the team’s score to 157 runs in 20 overs.
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It certainly wasn’t a par score at the Wanderers, but India started superbly with the ball. RP Singh castled Mohammad Hafeez in the first over itself while also disturbing Kamran Akmal’s furniture. However, between those two wickets, Imran Nazir got Pakistan off to a flyer, smashing 33 runs off 14 balls. Pakistan crossed the 50-run mark in the 6th over and just when he was running away with the match, Robin Uthappa’s direct hit brought India back in the match.
Nazir’s run-out triggered a stunning collapse as Pakistan were reduced from 53/2 to 77/6 in a space of six overs. Surely, India were the favourites here! But what’s the thrill of an India vs. Pakistan game without the twists and turns? Misbah-ul-Haq stood his ground with ample support from Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir, who scored 15 and 12 runs respectively to keep Pakistan in the hunt.
Even as wickets fell, Pakistan found big hits at the right time to bring the equation down to 13 runs off the last over with one wicket remaining. Misbah was on strike, and this is when Dhoni took arguably the toughest decision of his career. Despite Harbhajan Singh having an over left, he threw the ball to Joginder Sharma who had conceded 13 runs in his three overs by then. He was young, and the pressure was such that things could’ve gone horribly wrong.
The over started in the same way, with Joginder bowling a wide and then going for a six. It seemed Misbah would take Pakistan home with only six runs needed off four balls. With only one big shot needed, for some reason, Misbah went for a scoop shot off the very next ball that was delivered full, and he mistimed it. Sreesanth was stationed at short fine-leg, and under massive pressure, he managed to hold on to the catch as India won the inaugural T20 World Cup, much to the delight of the cricket-loving nation, ending a 24-year ICC trophy drought.
Seventeen years later, despite the T20 World Cup win earlier this year, this World Cup still feels special as it changed Indian cricket forever. Dhoni’s era got underway, witnessing India becoming No. 1 in Tests for the first time, winning the ODI World Cup in 2011, and then the Champions Trophy in 2013. Rohit Sharma’s recent achievement in leading India to their second T20 World Cup title once again highlights the dynamism and prowess of Indian cricket on the global stage.
