India went into the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, in South Africa in 2007, with no weight of expectations. A shattering first-round exit from its 50-over counterpart a few months previously in the Caribbean had prepared Indian fans for the worst. Senior batters Rahul Dravid, then the captain, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly decided to give the tournament a miss, and Dilip Vengsarkar’s selection panel appointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the skipper in a left-field decision that was to alter the landscape of Indian cricket.
It was against this background that India embarked on their African safari. They had played just one international T20 previously, also in South Africa in December 2006, which meant their tryst with the format was brief, at best. A first look at what they might have to offer was denied when their opening Group D encounter against Scotland was washed out without a ball being bowled; their second, and final, league fixture was against old friends Pakistan, also at Durban’s Kingsmead, on September 14.
It was this match that fired the imagination of the average Indian supporter. India won by a 3-0 scoreline, a margin more at home in a football encounter than on the cricket field, but cricket had been invaded by the football way of thinking. Tournament rules dictated that every match must have a winner; in the event of a tie, each team would designate five players who would target untenanted stumps in a ‘Bowl Out’ that has subsequently been replaced by the Super Over. You’d think hitting wickets not guarded by batters was simple enough for professional cricketers, but there is no gainsaying the tricks pressure can play.
The match itself had ended in a fascinating tie, Pakistan matching India’s 141 for nine with 141 for seven after Misbah-ul-Haq was run out off the last ball of the 20th over. The right-hander had hauled his team to the doorstep of victory; with Pakistan needing 12 off the last over bowled by S Sreesanth, Misbah smacked fours off the second and fourth deliveries to bring the equation down to one run off two balls. Sreesanth beat him on the cut off the penultimate delivery and Yuvraj Singh swooped from cover to relay the white orb to Sreesanth to whip off the bails at the non-striker’s end off the last ball, which left the scores dead level and Misbah distraught after a spectacular hand of 53 off 35 deliveries when all had seemed lost at 47 for four.
After Mohammad Asif reduced India to 19 for three at the start of the fifth over with the scalps of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj, Robin Uthappa breathed life into the innings with a spunky 50, while Dhoni, Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar weighed in with useful runs down the order. India’s total wasn’t humongous but it was something to work with; the bowlers responded admirably to peg Pakistan back until skipper Shoaib Malik added 40 for the fifth wicket with Misbah in the first show of resistance, after which it was pretty much the Misbah show all the way till Yasir Arafat weighed in with a crucial unbeaten 12 off five deliveries.
Misbah’s last-ball run-out set off furious confabulations in the two camps as the leadership group decided who the respective chosen five would be. One isn’t sure how much Pakistan had catered for the ‘Bowl Out’ but India’s preparations were impeccable. Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad ensured that his wards were all ready for the challenge. India even kept scores to see who their best options were. Unfortunately, the one with a near-perfect record, Rohit Sharma, wasn’t in the XI and was therefore ineligible for the ‘Bowl Out’, hence the Indian nominees were, in that order, Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Uthappa, Pathan and Sreesanth. Pakistan’s roster included Arafat, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir and Asif.
And now, the bowl-out
As it turned out, the last two from either nation weren’t required to bowl. With Dhoni standing up behind the stumps, a grinning Sehwag sauntered in and hit bull’s eye with a flat, fast ball; Arafat responded with a full toss outside off. 1-0, India.
Harbhajan took a cue from Sehwag, bowling full and straight to hit timber, Gul failed to find the target. 2-0, India, almost there.
Uthappa is nothing if not a showman. After knocking the stumps over with a seam-up ball, he whipped off his cap and bowed dramatically before the crowd. With tension mounting and Pakistan needing a ‘strike’ to stay alive, Afridi fired the ball down the leg-side to complete his team’s tale of woe. 3-0, India.
Game, set and match, India, to borrow a parlance from another sport. And a foretaste of what was to come ten days later, against the same opponents, in an electric final.
Brief scores: India: 141/9 in 20 overs (Robin Uthappa 50, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 33; Mohammad Asif 4-18, Shahid Afridi 2-37) tied Pakistan: 141/7 in 20 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 53; Irfan Pathan 2-0). India won ‘Bowl Out’ 3-0. Player of the Match: Mohammad Asif (Pakistan).
