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September 24 holds a special place in the hearts of Indian fans as the Men in Blue won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa on this day 16 years ago. Against all the odds, a young MS Dhoni led his men to glory in a format that was just starting to find its feet in international cricket.
Many senior players had withdrawn from the tournament and that probably gave the team the injection of youth and fearlessness that it needed. Overcoming most of the challenges on their way, India beat Pakistan in the final in Johannesburg by five runs to win a thrilling final.
Fans took to X earlier today to share their memories from the day when MS Dhoni and co. scripted history. Here are some of the reactions:
India snatched victory from the jaws of defeat
A fantastic 75 by Gautam Gambhir and a crucial cameo of 30* from Rohit Sharma helped the Men in Blue get to a fighting total of 157/5 in their 20 overs in the final. The onus was on the bowlers to back up the effort and they certainly did so, picking up wickets at regular intervals.
RP Singh was stunning with the new ball, while Irfan Pathan kept on picking up wickets in the middle overs. At 77/6 it seemed like Pakistan would lose the game comprehensively. However, Misbah-ul-Haq's sensational hitting put them in front in the chase.
With six runs needed off four balls, Misbah mistimed a scoop shot from Joginder Sharma straight into the hands of Sreesanth at fine leg, and that helped India clinch the game and the T20 World Cup title.
T20 World Cup 2007 winning squad: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Piyush Chawla, Joginder Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, S Sreesanth.
