IND vs Pak, WT20, Final, Johannesburg.
Ind won the toss and decided to bat first.
Ind got a setback before the match when they got to know that their in-form opener @virendersehwag had to sit out due to an injury. @GautamGambhir and @iamyusufpathan were..
.. opening in a crunch final with latter debuting for Ind and on the 1st ball of the inngs, Gambhir took off for a risky single. Yusuf, who had leg workout in the gym earlier in the day, just made it via dive. Nerves were on. FINAL was on. @iamyusufpathan, however, showed no..
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.. such nerves when he took Asif on in the 1st over of the inns. SIX & a THREE. Ind were off and running. 12/0. 1st over. However, @iamyusufpathan& #39;s adventurous inngs ended when he played a shot too many against the experienced Asif. Yusuf gone. Uthappa followed him. Ind 40/2.
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@GautamGambhir on the other end was diving to save himself. There were also few cuts, flicks, occasional use of feet against Afridi and Hafeez. @YUVSTRONG12 who wasn& #39;t timing the ball the way he was in Durban, got out trying to up the ante. Dhoni was yorked by Gul. Ind 111/2..
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.. in 15.2 overs. Ind tensed. Pak were roaring loud. The pressure started telling on @GautamGambhir as he tried scooping one of Gul but ended up finding the fielder. Ind 130/5, 18 Ovrs. But then came @ImRo45. He sliced, deft touched, lofted one over mid on to make sure..
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.. Ind reach competitive 157/5 in 20 overs adding 27 runs in the last 2 overs.
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Pak needed a good start. Ind needed wickets. @rpsingh did just that. He got @MHafeez22 then @KamiAkmal23. Meanwhile, Nazir was in mood to chase the score by himself..
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Pak needed a good start. Ind needed wickets. @rpsingh did just that. He got @MHafeez22 then @KamiAkmal23. Meanwhile, Nazir was in mood to chase the score by himself..
He blasted 20 runs in the 1st over of @sreesanth36. The battle was on. Pak 26/2 in 2.3 overs. Ind made things tighter. Pak were holding on. Then came the Sree& #39;s 3rd over. Younus first took on Sree for couple of boundaries. Sensing the pressure, Sree bowled one on..
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.. good length. Younus started running, Nazir responded. However, @robbieuthappa was quick to realize that Nazir wasn& #39;t prepared for a single. He hit the batsmen end and off it went. Ind were up again. They soon got Younus hitting one to Mid-on, Pak 65-4. 8.3 overs.
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Then came @IrfanPathan. He took out @realshoaibmalik, @SAfridiOfficial and arafat in a magical spell of 4-16-3 wickets. Pak 104-7 in 16 overs. And then came @captainmisbahpk. He took the matter in his hand and cartered Bhajji for 18 runs. Ind, however, pull things back..
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..when they dismiss Tanvir and Gul.
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Thanks to Asif& #39;s boundary, things looked evened out at the start of last over. Misbah& #39;s dominance against Bhajji meant Dhoni had no choice but to give Jogi a chance to bowl. The 1st ball was smacked to six and then....
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Thanks to Asif& #39;s boundary, things looked evened out at the start of last over. Misbah& #39;s dominance against Bhajji meant Dhoni had no choice but to give Jogi a chance to bowl. The 1st ball was smacked to six and then....
... "In the air.. Sreesanth& #39;s under it.. and @sreesanth36 takes it". Just like that a 1992 born kid had seen Ind win a tournament in front of his eyes for the 1st time. As a fan, I was not even watching the last ball. I had closed my eyes hoping for a fielder to catch it..
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.. tbf, If Ind had lost that day, I would have done what I did in 00& #39; CT, 03& #39; WC, 02& #39;CT finals that was to cry alone, but then I was jumping finally, joyfully crying this time. In the end, afterall I was able to see my dad& #39;s eyes and say "Dad! I HAVE SEEN IT TOO"
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I was in 10th class back then. Took a leave from school feigning illness. I was excited and scared. I wanted Ind to win badly. An emotion I can never forget. Just thought of sharing this with you. This gift the Dhoni& #39;s men gave me that day was the best I would have got as a kid!