WC Remembrances - 2007 ICC World Twenty20

It was a matter of pride. They had been brutally thrown out of the 50 over world cup in the group stage. They were beaten by minnows like Bangladesh & Ireland. But they came back. They made the first T20 world cup final the most memorable final in the history of wold cup finals. Yes, it were 'THE ARCH-RIVALS' India & Pakistan fighting for the inaugural T20 World cup. And I must say I was no less than any of wars India-Pak have had. But... it was the slighter better side, India who went home with the world cup.

In a match worthy of final, India won the all-crucial toss and decided to bat first. Save as Gautam Gambhir & Rohit Sharma no other batsmen crossed 15. India wraped up its innings with an average 157 on board. Playing a world cup final after 8 years, Pakistan didn't have a start it would have have wanted. They lost Hafeez in the very first over, thanks to a surprise first over by spinner Bhajji. Though they kept up with the required runrate they lost wickets at regular interval. Everything seemed to be going India's way till the 16th over, Pakistan requring 13.5 runs per over then. But then suddenly Misbah u Haq went mad. He stuck India's trump card, Harbhajan Singh for 3 huge sixes in the next over. Sohail Tanvir complimented him with a couple more in the next over and the game looked completely reversed.

Now the climax! Pakistan needs 13 runs off the last over with in form Misbah on crease. India going for the new medium pacer Joginder Sharma over experienced Bhajji for an over on which depends the result of hours & hours of hard work.
1st ball wide!
1st ball again-no run.
The second goes for a six!
6 needed off 4 balls with 1 wicket in hand
& the third, Pakistan is all out and loose by 5 runs! That easy!!
Misbah plays a highly risky scoop shot over short fine leg but straight in the hands of Sreesanth. India has beaten Pakistan by 5 runs. The catch by Sreesanth can undoubtedly be called the catch of the decade imagining the amount of pressure he was under.

It is worthwhile to note that both India & Pakistan were in the same group D at the group stage & their match was a tie! It was decided in India's favour by a bowl out. Winning the last 3 consecutive 50 over world cups, Australia came as favorites but were beaten by India in the semis. Also the Black caps just managed to reach the semis.

The inaugural T20 World cup was hosted by South Africa. A total of 12 teams participated. Besides the 10 Test playing nations, including Zimbabwe, Kenya & Scotland also qualified. 12 teams were divided into 4 groups of 3. Top two teams from each group entered the Super 8's in which the 8 teams were divided in two groups of 4 each. Top two teams of both the groups made it to the semis and winner of the semis played in the final. The matches were spread over a period of 13 days - a considerably short period comparing to the 50 over world cups.

It was not about record breaking this time but record making. Yuvraj hit 6 sixes in an over & fifty off just 12 bowls! Sri Lanka marauded Kenya when they scored a whooping 260 runs in 20 overs and won the match by 172 runs; a team total which is usually enough to win a T20 match. Chris Gayle scored a massive 10 sixes in his knock of 117 which will remain a record for a huge time for sure. Even a score of 117 in T20 is a world record as on date. Even then West Indies was eliminated after the group stage itself. Australia lost their first match to Zimbabwe! The T20 world cup saw a massive 265 sixes, 659 fours, 32 fifties & a century. And the poor Sanath Jayasuriya was hit 64 in is 4 overs against Pakistan. This clearly shows that it is mainly a batsman's game!

India went into the world cup with a young side. It was reported in media that Sachin had convinced Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid & VVS Laxman to skip the cup so as to give the young blood an opportunity. So with the disaster of 2007 50 over world cup & relatively inexperienced side, India were the least favorites. But under the able captain-ship of MS Dhoni, India won the World cup. It was an all round performance by the team.

A summary of results

Group Stages

1st Match, Group A: South Africa v West Indies at Johannesburg - Sep 11, 2007
West Indies 205/6 (20/20 ov); South Africa 208/2 (17.4/20 ov)
South Africa won by 8 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)

2nd Match, Group C: Kenya v New Zealand at Durban - Sep 12, 2007
Kenya 73 (16.5/20 ov); New Zealand 74/1 (7.4/20 ov)
New Zealand won by 9 wickets (with 74 balls remaining)

3rd Match, Group D: Pakistan v Scotland at Durban - Sep 12, 2007
Pakistan 171/9 (20/20 ov); Scotland 120 (19.5/20 ov)
Pakistan won by 51 runs

4th Match, Group B: Australia v Zimbabwe at Cape Town - Sep 12, 2007
Australia 138/9 (20/20 ov); Zimbabwe 139/5 (19.5/20 ov)
Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)

5th Match, Group A: Bangladesh v West Indies at Johannesburg - Sep 13, 2007
West Indies 164/8 (20/20 ov); Bangladesh 165/4 (18/20 ov)
Bangladesh won by 6 wickets (with 12 balls remaining)

6th Match, Group B: England v Zimbabwe at Cape Town - Sep 13, 2007
England 188/9 (20/20 ov); Zimbabwe 138/7 (20/20 ov)
England won by 50 runs

7th Match, Group D: India v Scotland at Durban - Sep 13, 2007
No result (abandoned with a toss)

8th Match, Group C: Kenya v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg - Sep 14, 2007
Sri Lanka 260/6 (20/20 ov); Kenya 88 (19.3/20 ov)
Sri Lanka won by 172 runs

9th Match, Group B: Australia v England at Cape Town - Sep 14, 2007
England 135 (20/20 ov); Australia 136/2 (14.5/20 ov)
Australia won by 8 wickets (with 31 balls remaining)

10th Match, Group D: India v Pakistan at Durban - Sep 14, 2007
India 141/9 (20/20 ov); Pakistan 141/7 (20/20 ov)
Match tied (India won the bowl-out)

11th Match, Group C: New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg - Sep 15, 2007
New Zealand 164/7 (20/20 ov); Sri Lanka 168/3 (18.5/20 ov)
Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)

12th Match, Group A: South Africa v Bangladesh at Cape Town - Sep 15, 2007
Bangladesh 144 (19.3/20 ov); South Africa 146/3 (18.5/20 ov)
South Africa won by 7 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)

Super Eights

13th Match, Group E: India v New Zealand at Johannesburg - Sep 16, 2007
New Zealand 190 (20/20 ov); India 180/9 (20/20 ov)
New Zealand won by 10 runs

14th Match, Group F: Australia v Bangladesh at Cape Town - Sep 16, 2007
Bangladesh 123/8 (20/20 ov); Australia 124/1 (13.5/20 ov)
Australia won by 9 wickets (with 37 balls remaining)

15th Match, Group E: South Africa v England at Cape Town - Sep 16, 2007
South Africa 154/8 (20/20 ov); England 135/7 (20/20 ov)
South Africa won by 19 runs

16th Match, Group F: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg - Sep 17, 2007
Pakistan 189/6 (20/20 ov); Sri Lanka 156/9 (20/20 ov)
Pakistan won by 33 runs

17th Match, Group E: England v New Zealand at Durban - Sep 18, 2007
New Zealand 164/9 (20/20 ov); England 159/8 (20/20 ov)
New Zealand won by 5 runs

18th Match, Group F: Australia v Pakistan at Johannesburg - Sep 18, 2007
Australia 164/7 (20/20 ov); Pakistan 165/4 (19.1/20 ov)
Pakistan won by 6 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)

19th Match, Group F: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg - Sep 18, 2007
Sri Lanka 147/5 (20/20 ov); Bangladesh 83 (15.5/20 ov)
Sri Lanka won by 64 runs

20th Match, Group E: South Africa v New Zealand at Durban - Sep 19, 2007
New Zealand 153/8 (20/20 ov); South Africa 158/4 (19.1/20 ov)
South Africa won by 6 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)

21st Match, Group E: England v India at Durban - Sep 19, 2007
India 218/4 (20/20 ov); England 200/6 (20/20 ov)
India won by 18 runs

22nd Match, Group F: Australia v Sri Lanka at Cape Town - Sep 20, 2007
Sri Lanka 101 (19.3/20 ov); Australia 102/0 (10.2/20 ov)
Australia won by 10 wickets (with 58 balls remaining)

23rd Match, Group F: Bangladesh v Pakistan at Cape Town - Sep 20, 2007
Bangladesh 140 (19.4/20 ov); Pakistan 141/6 (19/20 ov)
Pakistan won by 4 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)

24th Match, Group E: South Africa v India at Durban - Sep 20, 2007
India 153/5 (20/20 ov); South Africa 116/9 (20/20 ov)
India won by 37 runs

Semifinals

1st Semi Final: New Zealand v Pakistan at Cape Town - Sep 22, 2007
New Zealand 143/8 (20/20 ov); Pakistan 147/4 (18.5/20 ov)
Pakistan won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining)

2nd Semi Final: Australia v India at Durban - Sep 22, 2007
India 188/5 (20/20 ov); Australia 173/7 (20/20 ov)
India won by 15 runs

Final

Final: India v Pakistan at Johannesburg - Sep 24, 2007
India 157/5 (20/20 ov); Pakistan 152 (19.3/20 ov)
India won by 5 runs