Sept 24, 2007
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..

.. 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's adventurous inngs ended when he played a shot too many against the experienced Asif. Yusuf gone. Uthappa followed him. Ind 40/2.

@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'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..

.. 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..

.. 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..

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's 3rd over. Younus first took on Sree for couple of boundaries. Sensing the pressure, Sree bowled one on..

.. good length. Younus started running, Nazir responded. However, @robbieuthappa was quick to realize that Nazir wasn'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.

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..

..when they dismiss Tanvir and Gul.
13 off 6 balls
Thanks to Asif's boundary, things looked evened out at the start of last over. Misbah'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'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..

.. tbf, If Ind had lost that day, I would have done what I did in 00' CT, 03' WC, 02'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's eyes and say "Dad! I HAVE SEEN IT TOO"

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's men gave me that day was the best I would have got as a kid!