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Cricket Wins - It's Crackers Everywhere in Mangalore
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (GA)
Mangalore, Sep 24: As Misbah-Ul-Haq ballooned the third ball of the final over of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup bowled by Jogindar Sharma to S Sreesanth standing at short fine-leg, entire city started celebrating the sweet victory. People watching cricket in shops, houses, offices just shot out of their zones, started jumping and dancing. There was no bound to the joy of the cricket lovers. The city was filled with the sound and light of crackers everywhere.
Though it had been raining eversince the match started in the evening, nothing could dampen the spirit of the cricket fans. Young and old, men and women all were seen celebrating the victory. It was a remarkable victory for a team which was out of the ICC World Cup-07 in the very first round in West Indies only a few months ago.
The match which had all the nail-biting, heart-pumping situations of India-Pakistan tie, ultimately lived up to the expectations of the millions of cricket buffs. Finally it was not India which won defeating Pakistan but it was cricket which won defeating all those horrendous memories of World Cup in the Caribbean.
Pics: Cricinfo
News: Agencies
JOHANNESBURG, Sep 24: Mahendra Singh Dhoni's young Team India snatched the inaugural Twenty20 world title after defeating arch-rivals Pakistan by five runs in a rousing final on Monday.
The Indians, restricted to 157-5 after electing to take first strike in good batting conditions, fought back to bowl out valiant Pakistan for 152 before a sell-out crowd of 32,000 at the Wanderers here.
Pakistan appeared out for the count when they were reduced to 104-7 after 16 overs, but Misbah-ul Haq gave the Indians a scare with a late charge of 43 off 38 balls.
Misbah and the tail-enders took 19 runs in the 18th over bowled by Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and seven runs in the 19th from Rudra Pratap Singh, leaving 13 to get off the final over.
Seamer Joginder Sharma bowled a wide off the first ball and was hammered for a six by Misbah with the second legitimate ball, but gave India victory with his next delivery as the batsman holed out to fine-leg.
Rudra Pratap and Irfan Pathan claimed three wickets each as Pakistan's jinx of never having beaten India in a World Cup or world championship match continued.
Top Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan was at hand to witness India take home the winner's purse of 490,000 dollars while Pakistan received no prize money for their efforts in the final.
It was a remarkable performance by the Indians who had played just one Twenty20 international before the tournament began.
India's innings was restricted by seamer Umar Gul who scalped three prize wickets of Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni and top-scorer Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir slammed 75 off 54 balls, studded with eight boundaries and two sixes, but none of the other batsmen settled in to play a long innings.
The best partnership in the innings was between Gambhir and Yuvraj, who put on 63 for the third wicket.
India's total was boosted by Rohit Sharma and Irfan Pathan who plundered 27 runs in the final two overs. Sharma remained unbeaten on a 16-ball 30.
Pakistan's chase of the victory target of eight runs an over was launched by Imran Nazir who smashed 33 off 14 balls, taking 21 runs in the second over by Sreesanth.
But Pakistan lost three wickets by the sixth over as left-armer Rudra Pratap dismissed Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal in his first two overs and Nazir was run out by a direct throw from Robin Uthappa.
Pakistan took the total to 65-3 in the ninth over when three more wickets fell for 12 runs, two in one over from Irfan Pathan.
Batting mainstay Younis Khan made 24 when he gave a catch to mid-on off Joginder Sharma and Irfan removed captain Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi in the 12th over.
Malik on-drove Pathan to Rohit Sharma at mid-wicket and Afridi, expected to provide the late fireworks, was caught in the deep off the first ball he faced.
India went into the match without aggressive opener Virender Sehwaq who was ruled out of the key match with a thigh strain sustained during Saturday's semi-final against Australia in Durban.
Yousuf Pathan, elder brother of all-rounder Irfan Pathan who replaced Sehwag, made a dramatic start to his international career after being sent in to open the batting.
Pathan survived a run-out scare off the first ball of the match and smashed the fourth ball from Mohammad Asif over long-on for six.
President, PM, Sonia congratulate Indian cricket team
PTI
NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi tonight congratulated Indian cricket team for winning the T20 world cricket championship.
"I congratulate you and your team for becoming the 20-20 champions. Your team played positive cricket and the victory is an inspiration for our youth," Patil said in her message to Indian captain M S Dhoni.
The Prime Minister, who watched the three-and-a-half hour exciting game with his family members, said the nation was proud of their "impressive performance" and asked Team India to "keep it going", PM's media adviser Sanjaya Baru
said.
"They played well and made us all proud," the Prime Minister said. He also complimented Pakistan for playing well.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi congratulated the Indian cricket team for their brilliant performance and said all Indians are proud of this historic victory.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee also lauded the team spirit that was displayed by the Indian team in the convincing victory and hoped that this spirit would be carried forward in the coming events.
Union Sports Minister Mani Shanker Aiyer congratulated the Indian team for their victory and said the laurels brought by Indian teams in cricket, hockey and football would be extended to all sports.
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