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India On Media |
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| Cricket
News |
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| India crowned Twenty20 champions |
| India beat Pakistan in the World Twenty20 final by five runs to clinch their first major trophy since 1983
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| SOUTH AFRICA
, 24-September-2007
10:28:40 AM |
| They were up against it when Umar Gul (3-28) helped restrict them to 157-5, which Gautam Gambhir's 75 dominated.
But RP Singh struck twice early on and Irfan Pathan took 3-16 as a succession of batsmen tossed away their wickets.
Misbah-ul-Haq (43) rallied Pakistan by hitting three sixes off Harbhajan Singh and another in the finale but fell to Joginder Sharma to end an amazing game.
It brought a hugely entertaining tournament to a fitting climax and was always likely - after all the teams tied their group game.
There was a similar frenzied atmosphere when the latest instalment in their rich rivalry commenced at a packed Wanderers.
Gambhir was a figure of calm assurance, however, after debutant Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa perished with mis-timed heaves during a frenetic opening.
He placed and timed the ball elegantly, particularly through the covers, as he brought up his fifty in 38 balls.
The left-hander put India on course for a formidable total, but Yuvraj Singh - India's hero against England and Australia - never got going as Gul exerted control with his clever variations in pace and length.
Gul took a return catch after Yuvraj top-edged a pull and sent skipper Mahendra Dhoni's leg-stump flying as the scoring slowed dramatically between the 14th and 18th overs.
Gambhir quite literally hurt Gul's figures by smashing the ball into the scoreboard over the mid-wicket fence but Gul had the last word by having him snapped up at short fine-leg pouched the ball to become the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13.
Sharma collected successive fours off Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Hafeez helped a swipe off Sohail Tanvir over the wide long-on boundary to take the score past 150.
But India still had a lot of work to do to clinch their first major silverware since the 1983 World Cup final and deny their neighbours the chance to emulate their 1992 50-over triumph.
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