Back in 2007, in the inaugural T20 World Cup, the 2 sub-continental rivals, India and Pakistan faced each other for the first time in the T20 format. And obviously, the match had to be an action-packed one, so much so that it ended in a tie. This was also MS Dhoni’s first match as the captain of the Indian team.
In this article, we discuss how India defeated Pakistan by 3-0 through a bowl-out after the match was tied.
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Pakistan Chase 142
India set Pakistan a target of 142, with Robin Uthappa (50) and Dhoni (33) leading India’s charge after it was struggling at 36-4 at one stage.
Chasing 142, Pakistan were struggling at 4-47 when a partnership between Captain Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq took them to 4-87. However, Pakistan lost two quick wickets of Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, lagging far behind in the chase at one stage needing 47 runs off 21 balls.
It was an advantage for India with Pakistan needing 39 runs off the last 14 balls to win the match.
It was at this stage when Misbah-ul-Haq turned the match in Pakistan’s favor. Pakistan needed 12 runs of the final over to win the match with India’s Sreesanth bowling the final over. Misbah-ul-Haq hit two fours to tie the scores with 2 balls to spare
However, a dot in the penultimate delivery of the match followed by a run out in the last ball meant that the scores were tied.
In those days, a tied match was decided by a bowl-out, where 5 bowlers from both teams would try to hit the stumps of an unguarded wicket. It was only the second instance in international cricket where a bowl-out was going to decide the outcome of a match. The first-ever bowl out in an international Cricket match happened in 2006 between New Zealand and West Indies.
Match Summary: Scores Tied
India v/s Pakistan| League Match | T20 World cup 2007: India: 141/9 & Pakistan: 141/7
Result: Match Tied
India’s Preparation For The Bowl-Out: Dhoni’s Tactics
MS Dhoni and his men were prepared for the situation, as they made it a point to practice for the bowl-out in the nets. They used to practice for the bowl-outs at the start of any net sessions, and whoever would have performed well in these practice sessions would be picked if a bowl-out situation ever occurs. Thus, to the surprise of many viewers, India’s choice of 5 bowlers for the bowl-out was Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, and Robin Uthappa. While Pakistan nominated their regular bowlers, Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Shahid Afridi, and Mohammad Asif.
In a genius masterstroke, MS Dhoni, being the wicket-keeper decided to kneel directly behind the stumps for the bowl-out, thus all the bowlers aimed at him and made it easier for them to hit the stumps. While Pakistan’s wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal stood in his usual stance.
How MS Dhoni prepared the Indian team for a potential bowl out in the 2007 T20 World Cup 🔥
The bowl out between India and Pakistan took place #OnThisDay that year 🙌 pic.twitter.com/oOkPO15hXH
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 14, 2022
“The Pakistan keeper (Kamran Akmal) was standing where a keeper usually stands. A few feet back and beside the stump — just alongside the stump. But MS was (sitting) right behind the stumps and that made it so much easier for us. We just had to bowl at MS and it gave us the best chance to hit the wickets. That’s all we did.” – Uthappa Speaking on a Rajasthan Royals podcast.
The Bowl Out Begins
Sehwag Hits the Leg Stump – India: 1, Pakistan: 0
Yasser Arafat bowls a full toss outside the off stump and misses – India: 1, Pakistan: 0
‘The Turbanator’ spins and hits the Stumps: India: 2, Pakistan: 0
Umar Gul bowls outside the off stump and misses the stumps by quite a distance – India: 2, Pakistan: 0
Robin Uthappa bows down to the crowd as he hits the bull’s eye – India -3, Pakistan: 0.
Pakistan now cannot miss any if they wish to stay in the match.
Shahid Afridi bowls wide outside the leg stump and misses. It’s a victory for India!
India: 3, Pakistan: 0
India Win The Bowl-Out 3-0
Thus, all Pakistani bowlers bowled their conventional outside off-stump deliveries which obviously failed to hit the stumps. While for India, first Sehwag, then Bhajji, and then Robin Uthappa all hit the stumps sealing the victory for India. India wins the bowl-out 3-0. And with that MS Dhoni made sure India came out victorious in his first assignment as captain.
After this match, India would go on to face Pakistan in the finals of the T20 World Cup, where they would win a close match to lift the trophy. Later the bowl-out rule to decide tied matches was replaced with the now famous super-over rule, and we never saw this amazing thing ever again.
With that we come to the end of this article, we discussed how India defeated Pakistan through a bowl-out in the first T20 WC in 2007. Hope you enjoyed reading this article, and we will continue bringing you content like this, till then adios!
(Image Sources: Screengrabs – ICC on YouTube)