India won their first T20 international in a thrilling encounter against Pakistan at the Kingsmead, Durban.
Thirteen years ago on this day Team India maintained their winning streak against Pakistan in World Cups in a thrilling manner. With both the sides scoring the same after 20 overs, the match was decided after a tense bowl-out. The incident took place in the inaugural edition of T20 World Cup back in 2007 but it remains one of the most memorable match between the arch-rivals.
After winning the toss, Pakistan elected to bat and restricted India to 141. However, the bowling department kept the hopes alive, keeping a tight length and not allowing Pakistan take control of the proceedings. In the end, Pakistan failed to chase down India’s total but scored just enough to produce a late drama in the contest.
Much like a penalty shoot out in football, the bowl-out saw both the teams make attempts at striking the wicket with no batsman in front of it. For India Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa hit the bull’s eye. While Pakistan’s Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi missed the target, helping India win the match by a margin of 3-0.
#OnThisDay in 2007, India v Pakistan at #WT20 ended with scores level, and India won a bowl-out 3-0 in a thrilling tie in Durban! pic.twitter.com/dXf27ruAm8
— ICC (@ICC) 14 September 2017
Recalling the contest, Uthappa said then India skipper and wicket-keeper MS Dhoni had played a crucial role in India’s win.
Speaking on a Rajasthan Royals podcast with New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi, the right-handed batsman said, “One of the things that MS Dhoni did really well that night, and that he did different from what the Pakistan keeper did, was where he stood behind the stumps.”
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“The Pakistan keeper (Kamran Akmal) was standing where a keeper usually stands. A few feet back and besides the stump — just alongside the stump. But MS was (sitting) right behind the stumps and that made it so much easier for us. We just had to bowl at MS and it gave us the best chance to hit the wickets. That’s all we did.”
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