Irrespective of the type of sports an individual chooses to play, everyone wants to ultimately represent their nation at the highest level. Ambition, dreams and hard work matters a lot when someone dares to fulfil their aspirations.
Especially in a country like India where Cricket is regarded as a religion one must learn to grind themselves in order to polish their skills otherwise there are lakhs and lakhs of people with the same target.
Playing in a world cup winning squad is the foremost dream of any sportsperson. Until now, India have won the ICC 50 over world cup twice in 1983 and 2011, the ICC T20 world cup in 2007 and Champions trophy in 2013.
Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Sachin Tendulkar are among a few more players who had the privilege being a part of an ODI world cup winning squad but not in the ICC T20 world cup winning team.
In this article, Sportzcraazy will reveal the 5 players that won the T20 world cup final in 2007 as well as 50 Over World cup in 2011.
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni – India’s success in ICC T20 world cup 2007 and ODI World cup in 2011 wouldn’t have been possible without Captain cool’s presence. His outstanding cricketing brain and composure helped India clinch both of the major events under immense pressure. During the 2007 Final, Dhoni was able to score only 6 runs but he managed the team perfectly on the field. His decision to hand Joginder Sharma the final over of the match might have raised some eyebrows at that time but when he removed Misbah-ul-haq from the middle no one had any other choice but to nod Dhoni’s decision. However, during the 2011 World cup final, Dhoni did not let his fans down as he played an unbeaten innings of 91 off 79 balls and smacked Nuwan Kulasekara’s delivery for a six to end a 28 year wait. He was also rewarded as the man of the match in the Final and registered his name into the history books.
- Gautam Gambhir – The aggressive Left-handed opener was instrumental behind India’s both world cup triumphs. Gautam Gambhir scored the most number of runs for India on both occasions, which paved the way towards India’s victory. His match winning performances were overshadowed by the small but effective contributions of other players but the boy from the capital did not let it faze him. During the 2007 final, Gautam Gambhir scored a quick fire 75 runs off 54 balls with a strike rate of 138.89. Four years later Gambhir laid the foundation for Yuvraj singh and MS dhoni to take over as the Delhi boy smacked a fundamental 97 off 122 balls. He was just 3 runs away from his century but his innings ensured team India’s victory in the end.
- Yuvraj Singh – The stylish Left-handed batter was one of faces of Indian cricket when his career was at its peak. His consistent All-round performances helped India win both the world cups. Whenever T20 cricket will be discussed, Yuvraj Singh‘s name has to be mentioned thanks to his extraordinary performances. He was the first player to hit six sixes in a row in a T20 world cup match and his 50 off 12 balls is the fastest fifty scored in the history of T20 world cups. Although he didn’t contribute much in the 2007 final but he proved to be a match winner for India in 2011 50 over world cup. He finished as the man of the tournament, scoring 362 runs at an outstanding average of 86.19, picked up 15 wickets and also won four man of the match awards on the way. He held one end of the crease solidly and supported MS Dhoni throughout the end of the innings.
- Harbhajan Singh – “Bhajji” was the lone spinner present in both the playing eleven’s in 2007 and 2011. However, he proved to be in effective on both occasions and did not impact the game that much. He bowled 3 overs in 2007 and went for 12 runs per over and during the 2011 Final he completed his quota of 10 overs, removed Tilakaratne Dilshan but conceded 50 runs.
- Shanthakumaran Sreesanth – The Keralan right-arm speedster was never a consistent starter for India but Sreesanth was a member of both the starting XIs of the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup. Sreesanth’s performance with the ball in the 2007 T20I World Cup final against Pakistan saw him concede 44 runs in his 4 overs and picked up only 1 wicket. His most noteworthy play in the game, though, was when he caught Misbah-ul-Haq’s mistimed scoop shot in the final over of the match, which gave India the victory. In 2011, he mostly found himself among the reserves but due to Ashish Nehra’s injury, Dhoni decided to replace him with Sreesanth. However, he did not put much impact either as conceded 52 runs off 8 overs without taking a wicket.
Also Read:- Top 5 Consecutive Fifties in T20 World cups
