ICC T20 World Cup 2007: Inaugural Edition, India vs Pakistan Final, Joginder Sharma's Last Over
The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was held in South Africa from 11–24 September 2007. 12 teams competed in the first ever T20 World Cup. India defeated Pakistan in the final at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 24 September 2007. India chased Pakistan's 157/8 to tie the game on 157/9 at the end of 20 overs — a ball-out (now called Super Over) was used to decide the winner; India won. The final featured MS Dhoni's most celebrated captaincy decision: with Pakistan needing 13 from the last over and India's two senior bowlers (Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh) both having completed their four overs, Dhoni gave the final over to Joginder Sharma — a relative unknown. Misbah-ul-Haq, on 43*, was the batsman. Misbah hit a six to reduce the requirement, then attempted a scoop shot off the fifth ball and was caught at square leg by Sreesanth, giving India an improbable victory. Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in one over off Stuart Broad in the tournament.
The ICC World Twenty20 2007 was the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, held in South Africa from 11–24 September 2007. It was contested by 12 national teams and represented the first ever ICC global championship for Twenty20 cricket — a format that had only existed at the first-class level since 2003 (in England) and in international cricket since 2005. India arrived as underdogs: they had recently lost a Test series to England and were managed through the tournament by a relatively inexperienced MS Dhoni in his first major ICC tournament as captain. India won every match in the tournament, including a group-stage defeat of Pakistan on ball count (bowl-out) before meeting them again in the final.
Yuvraj Singh: Six Sixes Off Stuart Broad
On 19 September 2007, in India's Super 8 match against England at the Kingsmead, Durban, Yuvraj Singh hit six consecutive sixes off Stuart Broad's over — the first time in T20 international cricket history that a batsman had achieved the feat. The sixes came after an altercation with Andrew Flintoff, who allegedly made a provocative comment about Yuvraj's batting. Yuvraj, visibly angry, proceeded to hit Broad's next over — each ball — for six. He scored 58* from 16 balls in the innings. The 36-run over by Broad is the most watched passage of play in the history of the tournament; Yuvraj's 58* from 12 balls (after the over began) remains the fastest T20I half-century in the tournament's history.
The Final: Joginder Sharma's Last Over
In the final at The Wanderers, Johannesburg on 24 September 2007, Pakistan batted first and scored 157/8 with Misbah-ul-Haq scoring 43* from 38 balls. India chased 158 and tied the match at 157/9 from 20 overs, requiring a bowl-out (similar to a penalty shootout) to decide the winner. In the bowl-out, Pakistan bowlers conceded runs (Shoaib Malik hit the stumps only once in three attempts) while India scored; India won. However, the match-defining passage was the 20th over: with Pakistan needing 13 to win from 6 balls, Dhoni gave the over to Joginder Sharma — a 23-year-old medium-pacer who had bowled only 3 overs in the entire tournament. Misbah hit the first ball for 6 (bringing the target to 6 from 5). On the fifth ball, Misbah attempted a fine leg scoop and Sreesanth, positioned by Dhoni at the precise fine-leg location, took the catch. India won by tie (bowl-out). The moment of Misbah's dismissal — the tactical anticipation of the scoop shot — is MS Dhoni's most celebrated captaincy decision.
Tournament Impact: The T20 Revolution
The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the catalyst for the global expansion of T20 cricket. India's unexpected victory, in front of massive television audiences on the subcontinent, triggered immediate commercial interest in a franchise-based Twenty20 league for India. The Indian Premier League was announced by BCCI Chairman Lalit Modi in September 2007 — the month of the tournament — and the first IPL season began in April 2008. The IPL transformed the global cricket economy: player valuations, contract structures, broadcast rights, and the competitive landscape all changed within two years of the 2007 T20 World Cup. The tournament's timing — immediately before the announcement of the IPL — makes it the single most consequential event in the modern history of cricket's commercialisation.
Frequently asked questions
Why did MS Dhoni give Joginder Sharma the last over in the 2007 T20 World Cup Final and how did he know Misbah would scoop?
Dhoni's decision to give Joginder Sharma the last over in the 2007 T20 World Cup Final — with Pakistan needing 13 from 6 balls and Misbah on strike — was controversial at the time and has since been reframed as visionary by those who study it. Dhoni's senior bowlers (Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh) had completed their four overs each. The alternatives were RP Singh (who had been expensive) and Yuvraj Singh (who was not a pace threat). Dhoni chose Sharma partly because his slower pace (circa 120–125 km/h) would give Misbah — who had been timing pacers well — less to work with. The scoop off the fifth ball: Dhoni had placed a fielder at fine leg specifically for the scoop, having noticed Misbah attempting the shot earlier in his innings. The decision to position Sreesanth at fine leg before ball 5 was deliberate. Sreesanth caught the ball at knee height. It remains the most celebrated piece of tactical cricket captaincy from an Indian captain — a decision that required not just nerve but a read of the batsman's tendencies under pressure.
How did the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 directly lead to the founding of the IPL?
The causal chain between the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and the founding of the Indian Premier League is direct. Before the tournament, BCCI had shown limited interest in a domestic T20 league; the existing Duleep and Ranji Trophy were first-class tournaments, and there was political resistance within the board to a franchise model. The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 demonstrated three things that changed BCCI's calculation: (1) T20 cricket generated extraordinary television audiences — the India-Pakistan final drew an estimated 100+ million viewers; (2) India's win created a wave of public enthusiasm for the format; and (3) Indian players in the tournament — especially Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni — became instantly commercially valuable as T20 specialists. BCCI Chairman Lalit Modi announced the IPL framework in September 2007, within days of the tournament. The IPL's first franchise auction, held in January 2008, sold eight teams for a total of $723.59 million. The IPL became, within two seasons, the highest-valued domestic cricket league in the world. Without India winning the 2007 World T20, it is at minimum questionable whether the IPL would have been launched when it was, or at the commercial scale it achieved.