Indias’ Greatest T20I Wins: In the final part of this series covering India’s greatest T20I wins, we look at 3 games that left a lasting impression on our minds. The stakes were high for each of these games and the Indian team lifted themselves to register memorable victories. Two of these wins came in two different World Cup editions spread across three different decades. The third one came in a multination tournament final. All these three wins remain an iconic part of Indian cricketing fans’ memories. Lets look at details on Indias’ Greatest T20I Wins.
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Indias’ Greatest T20I wins – Part IV:
#3 The upset at Durban, 2007 T20 World Cup
India had fought their way against both New Zealand and England to stay alive in the competition. They narrowly lost to the Kiwis while getting the better of England in a high-scoring game. India’s last match in the super eight stage was against hosts, South Africa. The home team was unbeaten right until that point. It was India’s second game in two days. The star of their previous match, Yuvraj Singh couldn’t recover in time for this game.
India was on the back foot. They won the toss and chose to bat first but failed to get going until the halfway stage of their innings. India was tottering at 61-4 in 10.3 overs. Rohit Sharma announced himself on the world stage with a sparkling 50 while captain MS Dhoni chipped in with 45. India put on 153-5 on board.
The target was expected to be a cakewalk for the Proteas turned out to be a nightmare. A spirited Indian side shocked the home team as they reduced them to 31-5 inside 5 overs. Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel tried valiantly but they were always going to fall short. India didn’t just defeat South Africa but knocked them out of the World Cup!
#2 Dinesh Karthik – the Bangladesh slayer
It was the final of the Nidahas trophy. Bangladesh made it to the finals after a heated win against hosts Sri Lanka. India was clearly the best ahead in the competition losing just one game out of four. Winning the toss, India chose to field first to take advantage of the dew later. Bangladesh posted a decent total of 166-8.
India lost two quick wickets inside 4 overs. But Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul got India right back into the chase. But post their dismissals, India found themselves in a spot of bother. Mustafizur Rahman’s classic 18th over gave the bragging rights to Bangladesh. India needed 34 runs from 2 overs.
The fans had given up on an Indian win but not Dinesh Karthik. He took apart Rubel Hossain in the 19th over for 22 runs bringing down the equation to 12 off the last over. India could manage just 7 runs off the first 5 balls and they needed 5 to win off the last ball. Karthik was the man on strike. He smashed a six-over deep extra cover to win India the trophy. His unbeaten 29 off 8 balls remains one of the best cameos in T20Is.
#1 Virat Kohli – the genius, the emperor
It was a high-voltage first game for arch-rivals, India and Pakistan. The latter for the first time in World Cup history across formats, had beaten India in the previous T20 World Cup. India chose to field after winning the toss. They removed both the openers early at the score of 15. But a 76-run partnership for the third wicket saw Pakistan consolidate well. They again lost 3 wickets for just 7 runs. But some late-order hitting helped them reach a total of 159-8.
It wasn’t going to be easy against Pakistan’s speedsters. Haris Rauf in particular breathed fire. He removed both Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav inside the powerplay. India was reeling at 31-4 in 6.1 overs. They moved at a snail’s pace to 45-4 in 10 overs. This is when the pair of Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli decided to change gears. They belted 3 sixes off Mohammad Nawaz’s over. But the equation was still daunting. India needed 70 from 6 and later 48 from 3.
Kohli found 3 boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afridi’s 18th over to bring the equation down to 31 off 2. Pakistan’s best bowler of the night, Rauf bowled the 19th over. The first 4 balls went for just 3 runs. Something had to give. Kohli then played what might well go down as the shot of the century. He hit a back-of-length ball on the back foot right over the bowler’s head for a six. Kohli hit the last ball for another six, this time over fine leg.
India lost Hardik Pandya to the first ball of the 19th over. It again reached improbable terrain for India but Kohli kept believing. India needed 13 from 3, and Kohli hit a waist-high full toss (no-ball) for a six over square leg. It came down to 2 runs off the final ball with Ravichandran Ashwin on strike. The wily cricketer let one pass for a wide and hit the legitimate last ball cooly over long off for a single. India won a humdinger. Kohli showed the world why he is called the king, and why he is termed a genius. On that day, they called him emperor too!
