Tuesday, 24 September 2024 marks 17 years since India's memorable 2007 T20 World Cup triumph. After a disastrous ODI World Cup earlier that year, India were far from favourites heading into the tournament. It was a young and relatively inexperienced team with a new captain - Dhoni in charge. Little did anyone expect India to go all the way in the newly-launched T20 format. However, underdogs India shut their critics down in style as they scripted history after beating Pakistan in a thrilling final in Johannesburg to lift their maiden T20 World Cup title. India's T20 World Cup victory in South Africa left an indelible mark in world cricket, repositioning the Men in Blue's status as one of the best teams in the world. The victory gave millions back home something to cheer after witnessing what was one of India's worst-ever ODI World Cup campaigns earlier that year. India brought an end to a 17-year-long wait to lift their second T20 World Cup title under Rohit Sharma's captaincy in 2024. But the country's maiden triumph remains special for the fans considering India were the underdogs in the tournament. 2024 was completely different as despite not having lifted a major trophy in a decade, India entered the tournament as one of the favourites and went on to lift the trophy in style. 2007 T20 World Cup - MS Dhoni & Co.

shun underdogs tag to create history India headed into the T20 World Cup 2007 as one of the least favourites with a new captain and a young squad at their disposal. Senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid had already pulled out of the tournament, paving the way for the youngsters to get a taste of the T20 format which was relatively new. But the tournament turned out to be the start of something special as Dhoni emerged as a calm and composed leader, who stamped his authority on the world stage with his remarkable captaincy. Dhoni's calm approach became a defining feature of India's campaign as the Men in Blue played a fearless brand of cricket to enjoy a fantastic run. India started their campaign with a nail-biting win against arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling bowlout before beating the likes of New Zealand, England and South Africa to reach the semi-final. India were up against the mighty Australians in the final. However, brilliant knocks from Yuvraj Singh and Dhoni helped India post a strong total of 188 runs on the board before the bowlers stepped up to restrict Australia to 173/7 in 20 overs and wrap up a magnificent victory for India. In the all-important final, India locked horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in what turned out to be a humdinger of a summit clash. Joginder Sharma bowled the crucial last over and dismissed a well-set Misbah-ul-Haq on 43 on the third delivery to help India defend a total of 157 runs and seal the trophy most dramatically. With 6 runs required off the last 4 balls, Misbah went for a scoop shot against Joginder and ended up playing his shot in the air. S Sreesanth plucked a brilliant catch under pressure to help India script history by lifting the trophy. The 2007 T20 World Cup triumph marked the rise of Dhoni, the captain for India as the legendary wicket-keeper went on to become the only captain in history to win all three ICC limited-overs trophies.