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On this day (September 24) in 2007, India beat Pakistan in the thrilling final of the 2007 T20 World Cup to be crowned the inaugural champions of the ICC event. In a dream summit clash played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, the Men in Blue got the better of arch-rivals Pakistan by just five runs in a nail-biting contest that went right down to the wire.
MS Dhoni-led India won the toss in the final and decided to bat first. The Men in Blue put up a competitive 157-5 on the board as opener Gautam Gambhir top-scored with 75 off 54 balls, a knock which featured eight fours and two sixes. Rohit Sharma provided the finishing touches to the innings, hammering 30* off 16 balls, with the aid of two fours and a six.
Chasing 158, Pakistan seemed down and out at 77-6 in the 12th over. However, Misbah-ul-Haq (43 of 38) gave them hope, clubbing four sixes. India, though, had the final laugh as he was caught in the last over by S Sreesanth, attempting a scoop over short fine leg off pacer Joginder Sharma. Irfan Pathan was the Player of the Final for claiming 3-16, while left-arm pacer RP Singh also starred with 3-26.
Three players from the 2007 T20 World Cup squad are part of Team India's current setup in different capacities. Take a look.
#1 Rohit Sharma (Test and ODI captain)
Rohit had only just entered international cricket in 2007, but still played a crucial hand in India's T20 World Cup triumph in South Africa. In three innings, he contributed 88 runs at a strike rate of 144.26, without being dismissed even once.
Before his cameo in the final, Rohit was the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 50 off 40 against South Africa in Durban, a knock which featured seven fours and two sixes. In the semifinal against Australia, he was unbeaten on eight off five balls.
Life came a full circle for Rohit when the 37-year-old led Team India to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup held in the West Indies and the United States. Opening the batting, he was India's leading run-getter in the ICC event, smashing 257 runs in eight innings at an average of 36.71 and a strike rate of 156.71. In a fitting farewell, he announced his retirement from T20Is after the triumph.
Rohit remains the leader for India in the Test and ODI formats. Under him, the team finished runners-up in the 2023 one-day World Cup as well as the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC).
#2 Gautam Gambhir (Head coach)
Gambhir was India's leading run-getter and second-leading overall in the 2007 T20 World Cup. It goes without saying that he was instrumental in the Men in Blue's famous triumph in the ICC event. In six innings, the southpaw scored 227 runs at an average of 37.83 and a strike rate of 129.71, with three half-centuries.
Gambhir's 2007 T20 World Cup campaign got off to an inauspicious start as he was dismissed for a three-ball duck in the group match against Pakistan in Durban, chipping a return catch to Mohammad Asif. In the next game against New Zealand in Johannesburg, he found his groove, smashing 51 off 33 balls, with the aid of five fours and two sixes, even as India went down by 10 runs.
The Team India opener then contributed 58 off 48 in the match against England in Durban, famous for Yuvraj Singh's six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad. Gambhir chipped in with 24 in the semifinal against Australia, but reserved his best for the final against Pakistan, top-scoring with an excellent 75 off 54 balls.
The 42-year-old recently took over from Rahul Dravid as Team India's head coach; the latter's stint ending following the Men in Blue's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. Before that, Gambhir was the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise that won the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
#3 Ajit Agarkar (Chief selector)
Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar had a disappointing 2007 T20 World Cup campaign. In two innings, he picked up just one wicket at an average of 75 and an economy rate of 9.37. He never represented India after this tournament.
Agarkar registered figures of 1-35 from his fours overs in the tied contest against Pakistan in Durban, getting the wicket of Salman Butt (17). The right-arm pacer proved very expensive in India's next match against New Zealand, finishing with figures of 0-40 in four overs. This game turned out to be his last match for India.
In July 2023, the 46-year-old was appointed by the BCCI as the chairman of selectors of the senior men's cricket team. The Agarkar-led selection committee picked the squad that finished runners-up in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and also the team that lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup, beating South Africa in a close final played at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
(P.S. Former pacer Morne Morkel, who represented South Africa in the 2007 T20 World Cup, is the current bowling coach of the senior Indian men's cricket team.)
