India clinched the inaugural Twenty20 cricket World Cup after a thrilling five-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the final in Johannesburg on Monday.
In a match that saw fortunes fluctuate till the dying moments, the young Indian team scored 157 for five and then held its nerve to dismiss Pakistan for 152 with just three balls to spare.
It was India's first major triumph since winning the 60 overs-a-side World Cup in 1983..
Irfan Pathan was named the Man of the Match.
India beat Pakistan in the final of the Twenty 20 World Cup in the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. India after winning the toss elected to bat and posed a moderate score of 157 runs at the loss of five wickets.
India mounted pressure on Pakistan with Irfan Pathan’s bowling taking the toll of Pakistani batsman in the power packed performance being cheered by thousands of supporters by both the sides included super star of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan.
India innings:
Gautam Gambhir slammed a rollicking 75 as none of the other batsman got going to prop the Indian innings. The left-hander struck his third half century of the tournament but India could not capitalise on a reasonably good start, leaving their arch-rivals to score at a comfortable asking rate of 7.9 to clinch the title in its inaugural edition.
Young Rohit Sharma (30 not out) was the other notable contributor as the Indians found the going tough in the face of some disciplined bowling by their bitter foes, who took control of the game from the midway stage.
Pakistan innings
R P Singh made early inroads for India and took 3 for 26 while Irfan Pathan's magical spell in the middle overs rocked Pakistan enabling him to finish with 3 for 16. Even Joginder Sharma did well, finishing with 2 for 20.
R P Singh gave India the perfect start, dismissing Mohammad Hafeez (1) and Kamran Akmal (0) in successive overs, the first and third of the innings.
And when Irfan Pathan bowled Yaseer Arafat in the 16th over, Pakistan needed 53 runs from 4 overs with just three wickets to go.
That was when all the drama began. Misbah-ul Haq hit three towering sixes off Harbhajan to engineer a heart-stopping finish.
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