Top ten T20 matches of all time: Part 1

Final, India vs. Pakistan, ICC T20 World Cup 2007

India and Pakistan met once again in the final of the 2007 World Cup to produce yet another enthralling contest that involved familiar protagonists from the last match that ended as a tie.

The match propelled MS Dhoni to the limelight as the young Indian captain with the ‘Midas touch’. For the reputation of slam-bang that T20 has acquired over the years, it is interesting to note that low-scoring encounters can be equally interesting (perhaps even more). Yusuf Pathan, making his debut, gave the initial bit of excitement hitting a six in the first over. His brief cameo was backed up by Gautam Gambhir, who starred at the top of the order for India, scoring 75 runs 54 balls.

Pakistan needed to 158 runs to win the cup and got off to a shaky start as the tournament’s find – RP Singh – landed a massive blow, picking up two quick wickets. Pakistan needed 13 runs off the last over, and the all-too-familiar figure of Misbah-ul-Haq was holding guard once again.

He smashed a six off the second ball of Joginder Sharma’s over, and it seemed that Dhoni’s decision to back the inexperienced bowler was going to give him nightmares; but at that critical moment, Misbah was tempted by the devil as he tried to scoop a full-length delivery, holing out to Sreesanth at fine leg. India won the match by 5 runs.