Team India’s Greatest T20I Wins: The first part of the series explored India’s T20 wins in the 2007 and 2014 World Cups. India’s one-off T20I win over Australia too found a mention. There are plenty of wins that the team has notched over two decades of the format’s existence. A few came up in World Cups, a few in multination tournaments, or even iconic bilateral series. The IPL juggernaut means that the spotlight is always on the Indian team. Irrespective of the format, they are expected to win especially in T20Is. The team to its credit has done fairly well.
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Team India’s Greatest T20I Wins – Part II:
#1 India vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2007
India surpassed all expectations when they qualified for the semis in the 2007 T20 World Cup. They had topped their group in the super eight stage. India was up against Australia in the World Cup semifinal. Australians are known for their big-game prowess. They obliterated India in the 2003 ODI World Cup final. But this team was wired differently. Under MS Dhoni, this team carried zero baggage.
The semifinal was played at Durban, a venue that India was quite well accustomed to in the tournament. India won the toss and wanted to bat first. They got off to a quiet start and lost both their openers with the score reading 41-2 at the end of 8 overs. It appeared as if the pressure of the big game had gotten the better of India. But in a stunning partnership that left Australia searching for answers, India made a rollicking comeback.
The Yuvraj-Robin show:
Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh put on 84 runs in just 6.3 overs. Uthappa scored 34 off 28 balls while Yuvraj Singh made merry scoring 70 off 30 balls. MS Dhoni (36 off 18) made a telling contribution in the final few overs. India finished with 188-5. It was a formidable score but since it was against Australia the total didn’t feel entirely safe.
S. Sreesanth bowled one of the most fiery spells ever in a T20 game pushing Australia on the back foot. He removed Adam Gilchrist with a scorcher. Irfan Pathan removed Brad Hodge but Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds got stuck into the Indian bowling. Australia needed just 54 runs off 32 balls at one stage with 8 wickets in hand. It was Sreesanth who provided the breakthrough once again. He bowled a beauty to dismiss Hayden. Pathan removed Symonds from the other end.
Harbhajan Singh joined the act. He clean-bowled Michael Clarke to push India’s victory surge. Joginder Sharma closed out the game in the final over as India avenged their World Cup final defeat. They made it to the first T20 World Cup final in some style!
#2 India vs Bangladesh, T20 World Cup 2016
It was the first T20 World Cup that was played in India. India was expected to steamroll opponents as they arguably had the best team for the conditions. The home team though suffered a shock defeat in the opening game against New Zealand. From being outright favourites to every game becoming a must-win, India was under immense pressure.
India’s campaign was hanging on a fine thread:
They won comfortably against Pakistan to keep their campaign alive. India’s next challenge was against Bangladesh. The side had run India close in the 2015 ODI World Cup a year earlier and also defeated them in the ODI series at home. India was wary of the challenge.
Bangladesh won the toss and put India into bat. Indian batsmen couldn’t really get going against a disciplined Bangladesh bowling lineup. None of India’s top three scored more than 25 or at a strike rate higher than 113. India huffed and puffed their way to 146-7 thanks to cameos from Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja. Bangladesh’s innings too played out in the same manner. But having a set target in front helped their cause.
The ultimate hara-kiri:
They needed 11 runs to win off the final over. Bangladesh had two set batters at the crease and 4 wickets in hand. The equation was down to 2 runs off 3 balls, surely they had to win from there. But their batters went for glory shots and lost the plot. With 2 needing off the last delivery, MS Dhoni outsmarted Mustafizur Rahman to help India win a nail-biting thriller. Dhoni’s pyrotechnics brought the roof down in the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru!
