India Savour Title After Triumph Over Pakistan.

25 September 2007

India ended a 24-year wait for a World Cup triumph by capturing the inaugural Twenty20 title on Monday after a final against Pakistan befitting their intense rivalry.

The dream final between the tense political neighbours was the perfect advertisement for cricket's shortest and latest version which had originally been seen as light entertainment.

India pulled off a thrilling five-run win in the last over to maintain their winning record against Pakistan over six World Cup clashes.

Pakistan also lost a 'bowl out' after the first-round match between the two was tied, their only reverse until the final.

The victory achieved by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men at the Wanderers drew parallels with the 1983 victory, when an equally unsung India provided joy to millions of passionate fans with their upset final win over the mighty West Indies at Lord's.

The young team's successful defence on Monday of a modest total of 157 raised hopes for Indian cricket's future and eased the pain of their humiliating loss to Australia at the same venue in the 50-over World Cup final four years ago.

Dhoni has won praise for his inspired leadership of a young side after batting stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly opted out.

The Indian board which initially opposed the event, arguing it wanted to introduce the format at domestic level first, joined the celebration, announcing a $3 million cash bonus to the team.

The event caught the imagination in the game's commercial hub as India defied odds by defeating hosts South Africa and then Australia, the one-day and test champions, in the semi-final.

The win could trigger an explosion in Twenty20 in India with the board having already launched a lucrative franchise league from next year to counter a rebel initiative.

HAPPY TURNAROUND

Reaching the final was a happy turnaround for two talented but inconsistent teams, six months after shock first-round exits from the Caribbean World Cup left their fans fuming.

Pakistan can hold their heads high despite Monday's loss, having rallied around soft-spoken skipper Shoaib Malik after they were in danger of once again hogging the headlines for the wrong reasons.

They suffered six months of strife since the Caribbean low.

Coach Bob Woolmer died a day after their elimination in Jamaica and his death was initially investigated as a murder until the authorities concluded it was due to natural causes.

Former captains Inzamam-ul Haq and batting mainstay Mohammad Yousuf then joined the rebel Indian Twenty20 league despite the board threatening to ban them.

Controversial strike bowler Shoaib Akhtar was then sent home from South Africa after he struck team mate Mohammad Asif with a bat in a training ground bust up.

Despite impressing with their focus, fitness and fielding, all traditional weak areas, introspection is bound to follow the defeat in Pakistan while India celebrates

India Hold On To Clinch World Twenty20 Title.

24 September 2007
India survived a last-ditch onslaught from Misbah-ul-Haq to win the final of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 by five runs against Pakistan in Johannesburg.

India scored 157 for 5 before bowling Pakistan out for 152.

Pakistan got off to a good start in their run chase, mainly thanks to 33 from Imran Nazir although losing Mohammad Hafeez for 1 and Kamran Akmal for a duck kept things in the balance.

Irfan Pathan (3 for 16) and RP Singh (3 for 27) then turned in brilliant performances to really turn the screw and when Pathan had Shahid Afridi caught by Sreesanth for a golden duck, it looked like there was no way back for Pakistan.

Enter Misbah, and unlikely near-hero Sohail Tanvir, who between them struck six sixes in three overs to bring the target into range. Last man Mohammad Asif played his part with an edged four to leave Pakistan requiring 13 to win from the last over.

Nervous Joginder Sharma sent down a wide, then a full toss that was hammered for six by Misbah. Then followed a dot ball, and with the pressure growing, Misbah then attempted to scoop the ball over fine leg, but failed to clear Sreesanth, who took the catch to send the Indian players and spectators wild with delight.

The crestfallen Misbah had scored 44 from 38 balls and must wonder what he must do to taste victory over India, having narrowly failed take his side to victory with a half-century in the group match which ended in a tie before India won on a bowl out.

Earlier, Umar Gul excelled once again with three for 28 as India themselves were unable to capitalise on a fine start. They were 40 for 2 from six overs with Gautam Gambhir scoring a majestically compiled 75 before the middle-order of Robin Uthappa (8), Yuvraj Singh (14) and Mahendra Dhoni (6) couldn't kick on.

It was left to Rohit Sharma, fast developing into a player to watch, to hit a swift 30 from 16 balls to push them past the 150 mark. At the time, it didn't look like enough, but under pressure, it was Pakistan who wilted, and the Indian bowlers had just enough in reserve to take the title.

ICC WORLD TWENTY-20 CUP.

The ICC World Twenty20 is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament consists of 12 teams and is contested by all Test-playing nations plus qualifiers. The championship is expected to be held around every two years. The inaugural event, the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was staged at South Africa from September 11, 2007 to September 24, 2007. The inaugural champion of the ICC World Twenty20 is India who defeated Pakistan in the final at Johannesburg by five runs.

SACHIN TENDULKAR

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkarpronunciation (help·info) (Marathi: सचिन रमेश तेंडुलकर) (born 24 April 1973 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India), often referred to as the Little Master or the Master Blaster,[2][3] is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.[4][5][6] In 2002, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time next only to Sir Donald Bradman, and the second greatest ODI batsman of all time next only to Sir Viv Richards.[7]
Tendulkar is the first player to score 10,000 runs in One-day internationals, and has the most centuries in both Tests and ODIs. He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so.[8]
Tendulkar has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards.

RICKY PONTING

Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974) is a professional Australian cricketer and current captain of the Australian cricket team in One Day International, Twenty20 International and Test cricket. Ponting also represents the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian Domestic cricket, a side he plays for intermittently due to international commitments. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very occasional right-arm medium pace bowler.
Ponting reached international standards at a young age for a batsman, making his One Day International and Test debuts in 1995 at the age of 20. However, his progress was not unhindered. He lost his place in the team several times due to lack of form and discipline issues, before rising to the One Day International captaincy in early 2002 and becoming Test captain in early 2004. As of July 2008, he is the equal-fourth highest ranked batsman in both One Day International cricket and Test matches in the official ICC ratings