How Many Times India Won the T20 World Cup: Recalling India’s Solitary T20 World Cup Win
India has won only one T20 World Cup trophy. India defeated Pakistan in the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2007 was the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20. It took place in South Africa from September 11 to September 24, 2007. 12 teams participated, including the 10 Full Members of the ICC.
India emerged as the champions under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. They defeated Pakistan in a thrilling final, with Joginder Sharma delivering the final over. The tournament was marked by impressive performances, including Yuvraj Singh's six sixes in an over against England.
The 2007 T20 World Cup was a watershed moment in cricket in general and for India especially. The success and popularity of the tournament laid the foundation for the growth of T20 cricket worldwide, including the establishment of franchise T20 leagues, and the subsequent T20 World Cup editions. Eight editions of the tournament have been played between 2007 and 2022.
How many times India won the T20 World Cup
India, who have participated in all editions of the T20 World Cup, have won it only once. This win came in the tournament's inaugural edition in 2007. What made this victory even more remarkable was the fact that India had played only a solitary T20I before the World Cup, making their journey in the tournament quite unfamiliar. Earlier that year, India made an early exit from the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, which made the T20 World Cup win even more significant.
India, led by new captain MS Dhoni and new coach Lalchand Rajput, featured the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan, all of whom were young and relatively inexperienced at the time. Senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly had opted out of the tournament to give an opportunity to the youngsters.
India was placed in Group D, along with Pakistan and Scotland. The tournament format consisted of group stages followed by Super Eight and knockout rounds.
Groups
T20 World Cup 2007
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Australia | Sri Lanka | India |
| Bangladesh | England | New Zealand | Pakistan |
| West Indies | Zimbabwe | Kenya | Scotland |
India's campaign began with a washout against Scotland, leaving their fate hanging on the crucial clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in Durban on September 14. In a tense encounter, India posted a modest total of 141 runs (Robin Uthappa: 50, MS Dhoni: 33), but their bowlers, led by Irfan Pathan (2-20), kept Pakistan in check.
"There was something particular about that World Cup. The bowl-out was one of the things. I remember we would go for practice. Before every practice session, we would practice bowl out' before or after the warm-up"
MS Dhoni, India Cpatian, 2007 T20 World Cup
With the scores tied, the match went to a bowl-out, a unique tiebreaker where bowlers had to hit the stumps without a batsman. Each team nominated five players to bowl at a set of stumps. Each team got alternate attempts to hit the stumps and the team with the most hits won. India prevailed in this unusual contest, securing their passage to the Super Eight stage. Pakistan, despite the loss, also progressed to the Super Eight stage.
"There was something particular about that World Cup. The bowl-out was one of the things. I remember we would go for practice. Before every practice session, we would practice bowl out' before or after the warm-up" the International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Dhoni as saying in 2019.
India lost to New Zealand in their opening Super Eight match, but bounced back with a resounding victory over England, thanks to Yuvraj Singh's 16-ball 58 and Irfan Pathan's 3-37. Yuvraj made history by smashing six sixes in the 19th over off Stuart Broad, thereby reaching 50 runs in just 12 balls. India won by 18 runs after successfully defending 218.
India beat South Africa by 37 runs in their next game to secure a place in the semi-final. Rohit Sharma (50*) and MS Dhoni (45) guided India to a total of 153-5, before RP Singh wreaked havoc with the ball, picking up four wickets for just 13 runs.
Facing a formidable Australian side in the semi-final in Durban on September 22, India scored 188-5 batting first. Yuvraj top-scored with 70, while Uthappa (34) and Dhoni (36) also made significant contributions.
Australia's chase faltered under the pressure of India's disciplined bowling – Joginder Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth picked up two wickets each.
India’s journey
2007 T20 World Cup
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13-Sep | Durban | Scotland | No result | - |
| 14-Sep | Durban | Pakistan | Tied (India won the bowl-out) | - |
| 16-Sep | Johannesburg | New Zealand | Lost | by 10 runs |
| 20-Sep | Durban | South Africa | Won | by 37 runs |
| 22-Sep | Durban | Australia | Won | by 15 runs |
| 24-Sep | Johannesburg | Pakistan | Won | by 5 runs |
The final showdown - India vs Pakistan
Both India and Pakistan topped their respective Super Eight groups before making it to the final of the 2007 T20 World Cup. The match was played in Johannesburg on September 24.
India, after winning the toss, chose to bat first. Yusuf Pathan, making his debut, opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir. Pathan, who hit a boundary and a maximum, looked in good rhythm but was sent back on 15 off 8 by Mohammad Asif. Gambhir, meanwhile, went on to score 75 off 54 with the help of eight boundaries and two maximums. Down the order, Rohit Sharma also played a crucial 16-ball 30, which propelled India to 157-5 in 20 overs. Umar Gul (3-28) was the best bowler for Pakistan.
In the chase, Pakistan did not have a great start, losing three wickets for 53 runs in 5.4 overs. While the runs kept coming, the wickets kept falling. Captain Misbah ul Haq brought some stability to the innings with a 38-ball 43, which included three sixes off Harbhajan Singh in the 17th over. In the 18th over, Sohail Tanvir smashed Sreesanth for two sixes to bring down the equation to 13 runs from six balls with just one wicket in hand. Joginder Sharma was entrusted to bowl the final over.
Sharma started off with a wide and was hit for a maximum on the third ball of the over. Pakistan now needed just six runs off the last three balls, with Misbah still on the crease. But on the fourth ball, Misbah attempted a scoop shot which went straight into the hands of Sreesanth at short fine-leg. Pakistan were bowled out for 152, thus losing the final by five runs. Irfan Pathan, who took three wickets for just 16 runs, was named the Player of the Match.
India's victory at the 2007 T20 World Cup marked the beginning of an illustrious journey for one of the cricketing world's most esteemed captains. Under the leadership of MS Dhoni, India achieved significant milestones, including securing the title at the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2011 ODI World Cup. Dhoni became the only captain in the world to have won three ICC trophies.
The victory also laid the foundation for the Indian Premier League, which is now the world's second-most valued sporting league in terms of per-match value.
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Umaima Saeed is a professional sports writer whose articles have been featured in several leading websites. She writes long-form content on sports, particularly cricket. She has a penchant for telling human-interest stories. Umaima has contributed articles on cricket to more than a dozen publications, both in print and online.