2007 ICC World Twenty20 final

The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 Final was a Twenty20 International cricket match played between India and Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa. Administered by the International Cricket Council (ICC) it was the culmination of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 which was the inaugural edition of the tournament. India won by defeating Pakistan by five runs. The teams had previously played each other in a Group-D match of the tournament, which was also won by India.

2007 ICC World Twenty20 Final
The Wanderers in Johannesburg hosted the inaugural World Twenty20 Final
Event2007 ICC World Twenty20
IndiaPakistan
157/5152
20 overs19.3 overs
India won by 5 runs
Date24 September 2007
VenueWanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Player of the matchIrfan Pathan (Ind)
UmpiresMark Benson (Eng)
Simon Taufel (Aus)
Attendance32,217
2009

Road to the final

In Group D, after initial games against Scotland, rivals India and Pakistan met at Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban, South Africa.[1][2] After India got to 141 for 9 in their twenty overs, a Misbah-ul-Haq run-out on the last ball of the game saw the match head into a bowl-out which India won 3–0 with Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa scoring for India.[3]

In the Super 8s, India lost to New Zealand by 10 runs.[4] India then defeated England and host South Africa by 18[5] and 37 runs.[6] Meanwhile, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 33 runs.[7] Pakistan also defeated Australia[8] and chased Bangladesh to win by four wickets.[9]

The first semi-final was a tight contest between Pakistan and New Zealand, which Pakistan won by six wickets.[10][11] India faced Australia in the second semi-final match, the lead alternating until India turned it around to win their spot in the final.[12]

Preview

Ahead of the final, Pakistani newspapers predicted a victory for Pakistan due to the fact that the match would be held during the month of Ramadan.[13] Sambit Bal wrote on ESPNcricinfo that "There is little to choose between the teams, and it might just boil down to who can hold their nerve best."[14]

Match details

Match officials

Team composition

The Indian team made one change from their semi-final against Australia: Yusuf Pathan went into the lineup to replace Virender Sehwag, who was unavailable for fitness issues. Pakistan also had one change with Fawad Alam being dropped as he was replaced by Yasir Arafat.[citation needed]

Match summary

After winning the coin toss and electing to bat first, India lost their opening wicket in the third over when Yusuf Pathan mistimed his shot to be caught by Shoaib Malik for 15. The next wicket to fall was Robin Uthappa, with another mistimed shot ending his innings on eight. Settling down, Gautam Gambhir played his shots (he achieved top score for India with 75 from 54 balls including 8 fours and 2 sixes). On the other end, Yuvraj Singh was caught out from a Umar Gul delivery to end the 63-run partnership. After MS Dhoni was bowled by Gul for 6, the innings slowed between over 14 to 18.[15] Rohit Sharma made some late-order hitting which brought India to 157 for 5 in the twenty overs. For Pakistan, Gul was the best of the bowlers as he took three wickets while Asif and Sohail Tanvir each took a wicket.[16]

In the run chase, Pakistan lost Hafeez in the first over while Akmal was bowled by an in-swinger from R. P. Singh. After a twenty-one run-over from S. Sreesanth, Imran Nazir was run out Robin Uthappa on 31, which started a brief collapse with the wickets of Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik and Yasir Arafat putting Pakistan to 77 for 6.[15] Misbah-ul-Haq remained strong at the other end with support from the tail-enders, and reached within thirteen runs of the target; however, he lost his wicket, with the gamble of going over short-fine leg ending in a Sreesanth catch. This resulted in India winning by five runs.[15] The pick of the bowlers was Irfan Pathan and R. P. Singh, who each collected three wickets; Joginder Sharma and S. Sreesanth also got into the wickets with two and one, respectively.[16]

24 September
14:00
Scorecard
India 
157/5 (20 overs)
v
 Pakistan
152 (19.3 overs)
Gautam Gambhir 75 (54)
Umar Gul 3/28 (4 overs)
Misbah-ul-Haq 43 (38)
Irfan Pathan 3/16 (4 overs)
India won by 5 runs
Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Umpires: Mark Benson (Eng) and Simon Taufel (Aus)
Player of the match: Irfan Pathan (Ind)
  • India won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Yusuf Pathan (Ind) made his T20I debut.

Scorecard

Source:[17]

1st innings
 India batting
PlayerStatusRunsBalls4s6sStrike rate
Gautam Gambhirc Asif b Gul755482138.88
Yusuf Pathanc Malik b Asif15811187.50
Robin Uthappac Afridi b Tanvir8111072.72
Yuvraj Singhc & b Gul14191073.68
Mahendra Singh Dhoni *†b Gul6100060.00
Rohit Sharmanot out301621187.50
Irfan Pathannot out3300100.00
Harbhajan Singhdid not bat
Joginder Sharmadid not bat
S. Sreesanthdid not bat
R. P. Singhdid not bat
Extras(lb 1; w 4; nb 1)6
Total(5 wickets; 20 overs)157134

Fall of wickets: 1/25 (YK Pathan, 2.4 ov), 2/40 (Uthappa, 5.4 ov), 3/103 (Yuvraj, 13.3 ov), 4/111 (Dhoni, 15.2 ov), 5/130 (Gambhir, 17.6 ov)

 Pakistan bowling
BowlerOversMaidensRunsWicketsEconWidesNBs
Mohammad Asif302518.3310
Sohail Tanvir402917.2520
Shahid Afridi403007.5000
Mohammad Hafeez302508.3300
Umar Gul402837.0011
Yasir Arafat201909.5000
2nd innings
 Pakistan batting
PlayerStatusRunsBalls4s6sStrike rate
Mohammad Hafeezc Uthappa b RP Singh130033.33
Imran Nazirrun out (Uthappa)331442235.71
Kamran Akmalb RP Singh03000.00
Younis Khanc YK Pathan b Joginder242440100.00
Shoaib Malik *c Rohit b IK Pathan8170047.05
Misbah-ul-Haqc Sreesanth b Joginder433804113.15
Shahid Afridic Sreesanth b IK Pathan01000.00
Yasir Arafatb IK Pathan151120136.36
Sohail Tanvirb Sreesanth12402300.00
Umar Gulb RP Singh02000.00
Mohammad Asifnot out4110400.00
Extras(b 1; lb 4; w 6; nb 1)12
Total(all out; 19.3 overs)152118

Fall of wickets: 1/2 (Hafeez, 0.5 ov), 2/26 (Akmal, 2.3 ov), 3/53 (Nazir, 5.4 ov), 4/65 (Younis, 8.3 ov), 5/76 (Malik, 11.3 ov), 6/77 (Afridi, 11.4 ov), 7/104 (Arafat, 15.6 ov), 8/138 (Tanvir, 17.6 ov), 9/141 (Gul, 18.5 ov), 10/152 (Misbah, 19.3 ov)

 India bowling
BowlerOversMaidensRunsWicketsEconWidesNBs
R. P. Singh402636.5001
S. Sreesanth4144111.0020
Joginder Sharma3.302025.7120
Yusuf Pathan10505.0000
Irfan Pathan401634.0010
Harbhajan Singh3036012.0010

Key

  • * – Captain
  • † – Wicket-keeper
  • c Fielder – Indicates that the batsman was dismissed by a catch by the named fielder
  • b Bowler – Indicates which bowler gains credit for the dismissal

Aftermath

After the match, Indian captain MS Dhoni remarked that "Twenty20 will be huge in India."[18] Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik blamed "luck"[19] and apologized to "Muslims all over the world" for the defeat, drawing sharp criticism from Muslim leaders and sportspeople in India.[20]

On 26 September, the Indian team was greeted with a warm welcome by the fans upon their return to India. The players took a 30-kilometre open bus ride from the Mumbai Airport to the Wankhede Stadium, where they were felicitated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).[21] The players were rewarded 80 lakh (US$193,477.39) each, while Yuvraj Singh was gifted an additional 1 crore (US$241,846.74) and a Porsche 911.[22][23]

In Pakistan, the loss was met with agitation by several fans who formed mobs, raised slogans and burned effigies of the players. In Lahore, effigies of Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan were burned at the football stadium which was hosting the 2007 AFC President's Cup.[24][25]

See also

References