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India Win World Cup Twenty – Twenty
There’s somne thing about India and World Cups in South Africa. The last time India played a World Cup here, it reached the final at Johannesburg. Australia were too good in that 2003 final, but this time there was no denying with infectious exuberance. Holding their nerve to win a match that made a roller coaster ride look like a yawn, the team won the final by 5 runs and wowed the world. Then it was time for a victory lap around the field, tricolour held proudly aloft even as skip-per M S Dhoni bared his chest.
It was a fitting finale to a tournament that has been high on thrills, and a fitting triumph for a team that believed in itself when hardly anybody else did. Led by a cool captain who urged them to just enjoy themselves, the players went out and had a blast- and soon, all of India had joined the a prty.”I’d like to thank my young team, which has been amazing,” said beamng Dhoni immediately the match. “No one expected us to win, and now we deserved a big celebration.” What made him choose Joginder Sharma for the final over?
“Bhajji wasn’t sure he wasn’t getting his yorkers 100% right. I thought I’d give the over toa bowler who wanted to make a mark at the international level. It reallydidn’t matter to me if we didn’t win, because we’d given it our best,” said Dhoni.
Rival skipper Shoaib Malik thanked the people of paistan “and Muslims all over the world” for their support before acknowledging that “we played badly and the Indians bowled superbly”.
The BCCI. quick on the ball, announced a bonus of $2 million to the team and Rs 1crore to Yuraj Singh for his six sixes in an over. Generous? Not when you consider that the players have restored pride to Indian cricket. Many have also redeemed themselves. None more so than man of the match Irfan Pathan, bowling again with the swintg, verve and cnniness that made him such an exsciting prospect before he underwent a horrendous slump in form. It was a doubly special day for the Pathan family, with Irfan,s elder brother, Yusuf Pathan making his debut after Virender Sehwag was ruled out with Injury. It’s only the third timer a pair of brothers have played in a World Cup final (Ian and Greg Chappell and Steve and Mark Waugh being the others).
Gambhir’s innings of 75, the highest ever by an Indian in T20, proved crucial, especially after an inspired spell from Umar Gul. Shoaib Malik later said that given the formidable India batting line-up Pakistan were looking to contain them within 160. That went to plan, but the Indian bowlers had other ideas.
Pakistsan’s last hope was Misbah ul-Haq, and he tonked Harbhajan for there huge sixes. Sohail Tanvir hit 12 off 4 and suddenly, Pakistan were back in the match. It boiled down to pakistan needing 13 runs from last over, with one wicked left. Misbah clouted a six, and it seemed all over for India. Then, fatally, he got too cute-trying a scoop that went stright to Sree Santh. The ceowd erupted, as did millions of viewers in homes and offices throughout India, and the boys in blue who became men before our adoring eyes finally had the big championship that fans have craved for almost two decades.