ICC World Twenty20 2007 - Final

Pakistan v India

At Johannesburg, September 24, 2007. India won by 5 runs. Toss: India / chose bat.

Twenty20 international debut: Yusuf Pathan (India)

Pakistan's bowlers had done a tremendous job in the first half of this game. In the first ten overs India had 69 for two wickets. Gambhir played well and scored 75 runs from 54 balls.

Pakistan batted average. They lost top order batsmen in the first ten overs. But Pakistan keep descent run rate. In the final over, they want 13 balls one wicket remaining. Joginder Sharma bowled the over.

First ball was wide. Next ball dot. Misbah strike the ball to boundary to the air.

Pakistan need 6 runs from 4 balls. Joginder Sharma delivered the third ball of the over full and on the stumps. Misbah tries to go for the scoop shot over short fine-leg. That was risky! Straight up in the air and Sreesanth takes it. Catch!! India hade won by 5 runs in the inaugural ICC World Twenty20.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni said at the presentation, "It's one of the things I will treasure for the rest of my life. I'd like to congratulate the boys and thank them for the response they have given me. No-one expected us to win and the way we played today we deserve a big celebration. Pakistan bowled really well today in the second half. But we knew we had runs on the board and we could bring some pressure on the batsmen. Bhajji was not 100% sure of getting yorkers in the death. I thought I should throw the ball to someone who really wants to well in international cricket. Jogi did a really good job."

Shoaib Malik said, "First of all I'd like to thank people back home and the Muslims around the world. We gave our 100%. India have a strong batting line-up. We did well to restrict them to less than 160 but our batting didn't come through. The Indians bowled really well and we played some bad shots. That's why we ended up on the losing side in this game."

Man of the match, Irfan Pathan said, "It's a great comeback for me. I held my nerve and bowled in the right areas. The pitch was a bit on the slower side. It gripped a bit when I bowled slower balls. I tried to mix up the pace and keep things tight. In the end it could have gone any way. The bowlers all did really well when Misbah was batting well. We played as a team and we won."

Man of the series, Shahid Afridi said, “Winning and losing is part of it. But we played really good cricket. Congratulations to the Indian captain and the whole team. I struggled a bit with my batting but I concentrated on my bowling.”

Player of the match: Irfan Pathan (India)

Player of the series: Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)