We were figuring out the format on the fly: Uthappa recalls 2007 T20WC win

On the back of a disastrous group-stage exit at the ODI World Cup 2007, the Indian team were in a spot of bother. With a new competition emerging out of the blue, the Indian selectors rested senior players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble.

Thus began a journey that has gone down in Indian folklore: a spectacular win against the expectations of the country's fans. With MS Dhoni leading the side, the Indian selectors sent out a young side to South Africa for the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. 

Until the inaugural T20WC, the Men in Blue had just played one T20 international (T20I) and it was pretty much down to the young side to figure out the nuances of the format. Not only did Dhoni’s men figure out the format, they also put on a show, even besting the pre-tournament favourites Australia with relative ease in the semi-final stage of the competition. 

So, what happened behind the scenes that led to India overpowering some of the best units out there in South Africa? Robin Uthappa, who played an integral part, spilled the beans on how the team functioned in the first T20 World Cup. 

“That tournament [T20 World Cup 2007] was surreal, to be very honest. We didn’t know what we achieved while we achieved it. I played in the 2007 ODI World Cup in the West Indies, and I thought that was my international career. None of us really performed really well in the tournament. It was relegation; it wasn’t healthy, you know when the bell was rung, Indian cricket took stock of itself,” Uthappa told Cricket.com on ‘Unwind’. 

One thing that has been talked about multiple times in the past is Dhoni’s ‘disliking’ for long meetings. Uthappa gave an insight on the same and further lauded Dhoni for seamlessly transitioning from player to captain.

“We were figuring the format on the fly. One of the things that was constantly spoken about was Mahi hated long meetings. The longest meeting that we had was for 12 minutes, he was really approachable. He wasn’t necessarily a senior when he became the captain, that’s when captaincy landed on him. He took it like a duck to water,” Uthappa added. 

India’s T20 World Cup win didn’t come without its fair share of drama, with their first-ever clash against Pakistan in the competition going down the wire. Batting first, India struggled for momentum, with the score reading 82/5. But from thereon, a 29-run partnership between Irfan Pathan and Dhoni elevated India’s score to 141/9. 

But the real magic came in the second innings when India were defending a paltry score. With a well-set Misbah-ul-Haq and Yasir Arafat at the crease, Sreesanth was tasked with the responsibility of defending 11 runs. Despite a bruised finger, the Kerala pacer delivered one of the finest 20th overs to take the game to a bowl-out, the first-ever such instance at the T20 World Cup. 

“The thought was there that we had never lost to Pakistan. We tried to stitch partnerships and rotate strike. It is beautiful when you let instinct take over, and magic happens. I’m actually horrible after breaks, every time I took a break, I tried to get off strike and get switched on. And then Mahi batted out of his skin and somehow got us to 150 [141]. The way Sree ended, man, that was something, that guy is a genius. I think Sreesanth is a genius,” Uthappa recalled. 

The drama didn’t end there, however, with India still needing prime candidates to beat Pakistan in the bowl out. That’s when a 21-year-old Uthappa put his hands up and convinced Dhoni that he was the man to do the ‘job’ for him. 

“I went to Mahi myself, and I told him “I have to bowl.” He looked at me for a second and said, “okay, you bowl.” In hindsight, that was the beginning of the genius that Mahi became as a captain. The time we spent together as teammates are some memories that I will take to my grave, and this is one of those. Culturally, it was very different, everyone were coming from a different background,” he concluded.

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