India wins first twenty20 cricket world cup by defeating Pakistan at Wanderers cricket stadium in South Africa. It is another unforgettable match after their league encounter between arch-rivals. Young Indian cricketers held their nerves in the crucial moments to clinch the inaugural 20-20 cricket world cup. India won the only world cup in 1983 under the inspirational leadership of Kapil Dev. Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the young team with an unparallel maturity. Image courtesy: Andhra Jyothy Major of significance of this win is it is due to collective team work without any coach. Dhoni marshaled these young boys and ideally utilized their aggressiveness for greater glory. Absence of seniors is the major reason for this collectiveness and lack of politics. Congrats for BCCI for selecting these young cricketers for such a major tournament. Man of the tournament: Shahid Afridi. Man of the match: Irfan Pathan. Irfan pathan took three crucial wickets by giving just 16 runs and turn the match India’s way. Coach and captain should groom this talented all-rounder if India wants to win more matches. Most crucial moment of the final: Imran Nazir ran out due to a wonderful fielding effort by Robin Uthappa. Not only catches but run outs also win matches. Unforgettable match: It is difficult to forget this match from memory for a long long time. Fortunes fluctuated between both teams and Misbah-Ul-Haq once again foundered in the crucial moment. He failed to repeat the heroics of Javed Miandad against India in Sharjah. His pre-initiated moment to hit that shot and Joginder intelligent bowling took world cup away from Pakistan. I can’t understand why he tried that shot when Pakistan just needed 5 runs from 4 balls. But Misbah-Ul-Haq is undoubtedly future Injamam-Ul-Haq. Crucial moments of the twenty20 final:1. Gautam Gambhir half century when India lost wickets successively.2. Robin Sharma’s 30 runs in the end.3. Imran Nazir run out- Pakistan lost world cup with this run out.4. Irfan Pathan’s 2 wickets in a single over including Shahid Afridi.5. Misbah-Ul-Haq’s 3 sixers … [Read more...]
India in 20-20 cricket world cup final
India and Pakistan reached first 20-20 cricket world cup finals by beating Australia and New Zealand. Young cricketers of subcontinent countries convincingly defeated experienced opponents. India reached world cup final by beating England, South Africa and Australia in the must win matches. Dhoni captaincy, Yuvraj batting and young bowlers surprised analysts with their unforgettable performance in this tournament. India is the best team to watch in this tournament. India match against Australia symbolises true spirit of young India. Chak De India! No one imagined this kind of sterling performance (including me) from these young heroes at the beginning of first 20-20 cricket world cup. Absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan actually helped these youngsters to perform to their potential. Performance of Yuvraj Singh is the highlight of this tournament. Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa batting symbolized the new fearless India. This is the first time Australia was defeated in a world cup match after their loss against Sri Lanka in 1996 world cup final. Yuvraj Singh is Man of the Match: Yuvraj Singh destroyed Australian bowling attack by hitting 5 sixers and 5 fours. He scored 70 runs in 30 balls and changed the match direction in the India way. Yuvraj Singh records in 20-20 cricket world cup: 1. He scored 1st (12 balls) and 2nd (20 balls) fastest fifties in 20-20 international cricket. 2. He hit the longest six in this world cup (119 metres). 3. He sensationally scored 6 sixers in 6 balls against England. 4. He is the first batsman to score 6 sixers against a fast bowler. Dhoni captaincy: Despite his flamboyant look, he is more composed on the field and successfully inspired young cricketers to perform fearlessly. The body language of Indian cricketers drastically changed and surprisingly attacked Australians in their own way. Absence of seniors made Dhoni’s task easy. Can Dhoni become another Kapil Dev by winning 20-20 cricket world cup for India? Bowlers surprised everyone: India played just one 20-20 cricket match before this … [Read more...]
