If Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s unbeaten knock of 91 runs gets the biggest mention whenever the win in the final of 2011 World Cup gets discussed, then Gautam Gambhir’s 75 runs in the final of the 2007 World T20 undoubtedly deserves a similar credit.
The young Indian side led by an inexperienced MS Dhoni had its back against the wall after it decided to bat first in the final against arch-rivals Pakistan. Yusuf Pathan and Gambhir began the innings on a good note with the former clobbering Pakistan pace spearhead Mohammad Asif for a huge six in the very first over.
However, once Yusuf was dismissed with the scoreboard reading 25, the Indian team began losing wickets at regular intervals. The likes of Robin Uthappa, in-form Yuvraj Singh as well as Dhoni failed to get going. Then stood up Gautam Gambhir, who held firm from one end and compiled a brilliant knock of 75 runs to guide the Men in Blue to a respectable total of 157 for five in the allotted 20 overs.
Gambhir’s knock turned out to be the crucial one, as India won the thrilling game by just five runs to win the inaugural World T20 title. Pakistan did not begin their chase on a good note and was looking primed to lose without bothering their opposition much after being reduced to 77 for six.
However, they clawed their way back into the game after Misbah-ul-Haq decided to take on the Indian bowlers. Yasir Arafat and Sohail Tanvir also played handy knocks, as the equation came down to just 13 from their last over with one wicket in hand. And after Pakistan collected seven runs off the first ball bowled by Joginder Sharma, it looked all over for Dhoni & Co. However, Joginder dismissed Misbah on his second delivery to guide India to a historic win.
Today is the tenth anniversary of that famous win, and Gambhir took to Twitter to recall his heroic knock and the win.
“When bat is on Talk mode everything else is on Silent mode! 10 yrs back winning d 2007 @ICC T20 World Cup for u & for me,” the batting stalwart tweeted.
When bat is on Talk mode everything else is on Silent mode! 10 yrs back winning d 2007 @ICC T20 World Cup for u & for me. pic.twitter.com/ZrJ2l9HfK2
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) September 24, 2017