News Sports Cricket Independence Day 2022: Let's re-live 2007 World Cup when India thrashed Pakistan in final to lift trophy

Independence Day 2022: Let's re-live 2007 World Cup when India thrashed Pakistan in final to lift trophy

From Yuvraj Singh's six sixes in an over, Dhoni's brilliant captaincy to a nail-biting final between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, the 2007 World Cup had it all.

IND vs PAK Image Source : GETTYTeam India

On the 24th of September 2007,  MS Dhoni-led team India scripted history by defeating Pakistan in a thrilling final and becoming the champions of the first World Twenty20 in South Africa.

From Dhoni's captaincy skills to the historic six sixes by Yuvraj Singh, the tournament was packed with brilliant performances and unique moments.  

However, initially, India was not seen as favourites after the withdrawal of the senior players including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly. 

The men in blue defied all odds to lift the world cup trophy after beating Pakistan by five at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. 

Skipper Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, and Irfan Pathan played an important role throughout the tournament.

India was placed in a group with Pakistan and Scotland. Their group-stage campaign started with a bowl-out against Pakistan, where India cruised to win by hitting the stumps on three successive occasions.

Eventually, they faced a setback with a defeat against New Zealand but Yuvraj set the momentum by hitting six sixes off Stuart Broad's over to ensure the win against England.

India booked their place in the semifinals by registering a win against the hosts, South Africa. But, a dominant Australian side stood between team India and the final.

The Australian side which included players like Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, and Michael Hussey was looking like a difficult team to beat.  But the Indian bowling attack successfully defended a 189-run total and helped the squad secure a 15-run win. Sreesanth conceded only 12 in four overs, taking two crucial wickets, and Harbhajan Singh recorded bowling figures of 1/24 in his four overs.

In the final, India made a decent start as Gautam Gambhir scored 75 off 54 deliveries and helped the team put up 157 on the scoreboard. Pakistan's run-chase was bolstered by Misbah-ul-Haq's 38-ball 43 but a fine batting display turned futile at the end after falling prey to India's bowlers.

Joginder Sharma defended 13 runs in the final over despite being hit for a six in the over. The young Indian squad registered a historic World Cup victory after 1983.

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