Everyone remembers India winning the first-ever World T20 final. The Misbah Ul-Haq 'lone gunman' comeback when Pakistan looked dead and buried, Pakistan just one blow away from glory and the ill-timed Misbah lap-shot pouched at fine leg - these all spring to remind whenever anybody mentions the final. But what's easy to forget is that this was all a case of deja-vu and that India shouldn't even have got out of the Group Stages.
In the final group match, India played Pakistan and India needed to win to progress. They posted 141 and, at 103-6 and with Shahid Afridi just out, Pakistan needed 39 off 14 balls. Misbah and Yasir Arafat went on to hit five fours and one six between them off the next 12 balls and the scores were tied with Misbah on strike. Pakistan needed one run off two balls, with Misbah on 53. Pakistan were 1.011/100 on Betfair. Straightforward, right? But Misbah failed to connect with the first ball and, after hitting the second straight to cover, was run out. There was then a 'bowl out' (before the days of the 'Super Over') and India won. Pakistan still went through but crucially, so did India.
You're the current World Champions, you invented T20 cricket, you're at home at the Home of Cricket and you're playing the Netherlands. The outsiders are 8.07/1 on Betfair. What could go wrong? There wasn't even too much wrong with England's total of 162. When Netherlands batted, the wickets kept tumbling but the runs also kept on coming. The upset was on with Netherlands needing 17 off 12 at six wickets down with one-time betting.betfair columnist Ryan ten Doeschate and E Schiferli at the crease.
As Stuart Broad came to bowl the last over, the Dutch need seven off six. Off the first two balls Broad twice had the chance to get a run out but missed both. He conceded two runs off the first two balls. A caught chance off the third ball was dropped. Two runs were needed off the final ball. The batsman got something on it, another run out chance was missed and the batsman made it back to the crease for two. The England players were stunned and the Lords' members left staring into their Gin and Tonics, wondering whether they were imagining things.
Australia vs Zimbabwe T20 World Cup 2007... by Cricketfeelsmegood
Back in 2007, Australia basically just picked their all-conquering ODI side to play T20 cricket. But so what? When it included Ponting, Symonds, Gilchrist, Hayden, Lee and Johnson surely you just needed to go out and play. Ricky Ponting famously said of T20 cricket: "It's not something I can really take seriously." In a Group Stage match at the inaugural World Cup against Zimbabwe, the outsiders were 50/1 to win on Betfair. Australia posted 138, a score that looked below par but one they would have expected to defend given their bowling line-up. Besides, it was Brendan Taylor, Tatenda Taibu and co. they were bowling at, not Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag.
The Zimbabwe runs came gradually but the rains came quickly and, at one stage, they went off with Australia five runs ahead on Duckworth Lewis. But they came back and with Zimbabwe needing 12 runs off the final over and Taylor at the crease having reached a half-century, it was on. Four needed off two balls but the last ball wasn't even needed. Taylor's pads nudged a poor delivery for four and it was all over. "We've just got to start respecting the game now," said Ponting afterwards.
Pakistan were the defending champions and looked like they were likely to book a place in a second consecutive World Cup final when posting 191 thanks to half-centuries by the two Akmal brothers- Kamran and Umar. It was looking extremely likely with Australia needing 70 off 30 balls at 122/5 and it was still very much on the cards when Australia needed 18 off the last over.
With his main bowlers (including himself) all having bowled their four overs, Shahid Afridi had to decide whether to give the last over to mystery spinner Saeed Ajmal or medium-pacer Abdul Razzak. He went with Ajmal. Mitchell Johnson nudged a single off the first ball of the over and Hussey was on strike. Hussey went six, six, four, six and ended unbeaten on 60 off 24 balls. "He's an absolute freak," said skipper Michael Clarke of Hussey after the match. Few would disagree.
Sri Lanka were well-fancied to win the tournament before the start but were left needing to win their Final Group game, against New Zealand. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara had said this was their last T20 World Cup. It looked like they were heading for an early exit when they posted just 119. New Zealand were hot favourites. Yes, it was a tricky wicket but a few blows from the bat of Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill or Ross Taylor and they'd be almost home and hosed.
Guptill, however, was run out early on and skipper Lasith Malinga brought on Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner who works in a bank when he's not playing international cricket. McCullum charged at one that turned and was stumped. By the time Herath had bowled 3.3 overs, he had taken five wickets for just three runs in arguably the best spell of bowling in T20 history. And Sri Lanka had won. They went on to win the World Cup and Herath went back to work at the bank.
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