In 2007, India suffered early exit in the ODI World Cup but sent a young team to South Africa that won the inaugural edition of T20 World Cup.
After India's opening fixture against Scotland was abandoned due to rain, the Men In Blue faced Pakistan in next game.
MORE: Bet on the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 here
In a closely-fought battle, the match ended in a tie as both India and Pakistan scored 141 runs at the end of their 20 overs. A bowl-out decided the winners.
Interestingly, while Pakistan chose three of their key bowlers, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat, for the bowl-out, the MS Dhoni-led India picked Robin Uthappa, Virender Sehwag, and Harbhajan Singh.
The Indian bowlers hit the bullseye on all three occasions. On the other hand, Pakistan failed to hit the wickets even once as India won the bowl-out quite comprehensively.
One key factor from the bowl-out was the position of the wicket-keeper Dhoni, who was sitting exactly behind the wickets. This was done so that the bowlers could aim for his chest as the target.
16 years ago India won a cricket match 3-0 via a bowlout against Pakistan.
— India Wants To Know: India's First Panel Quiz Show (@IWTKQuiz) September 14, 2023
Did you know that @venkateshprasad, then bowling coach of India, would organize bowl-out sessions during practice and the instructions were to aim at Dhoni's chest?
That is why MSD was on his knees. pic.twitter.com/LTmnFGfVFK
Venkatesh Prasad reveals India's preparation for bowl-out
Venkatesh Prasad, who was India's bowling coach then, revealed how he made the team prepare for the bowl-out.
"We had this competition between batsmen and bowlers. Most of the batsmen wanted to bowl as well, like MS Dhoni , Sehwag, and Robin Uthappa. We had this competition in these nets," Prasad said as quoted on Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube show 'DRS with Ash.'
“I was looking at what was happening from behind. So I knew who was hitting the wickets consistently. That’s when I saw Sehwag hitting, Uthappa hitting and Harbhajan hitting. So we said okay fine. Nobody expected that our very first match will have a bowl-out. It was a tight game. It was a bowl-out. It was not hard for me to convince MS Dhoni, saying 'these are the guys who are doing well'," he added.
India's World Cup triumph
India crossed swords with Pakistan again in the final of the competition. It was a close encounter and like the group-stage match, the result came in India's favour as they lifted their maiden T20 World Cup trophy. India have not managed to win another T20 World Cup ever since then.
