WATCH: How India Defeated Pakistan For The First Time In T20Is; Through A Bowl Out In 2007!

The first ever T20I match between India and Pakistan ended in a tie, which was later decided through a 'bowl out' tiebreaker.

Cricket Image for WATCH: How India Defeated Pakistan For The First Time In T20Is; Through A Bowl Out (Image Source: Twitter)

In the year 2007, India and Pakistan were shamed after crashing out of the group stage in the World Cup in West Indies. Both teams were looking for redemption and ultimately, these two teams met in T20 World Cup 2007 in the group stage, which ended in a tie after 20 overs of play for each side!

However, 'bowl out' was brought in as a tie-breaker in the T20 format, especially for the inaugural T20 World Cup. After being put in to bat first, India lost openers Gautam Gambhir (0) and Virender Sehwag (5) early on. However, Robin Uthappa scored 50 runs while batting at #3 and important contributions from captain MS Dhoni (33) and all-rounder Irfan Pathan (20) helped India to 141/9 in 20 overs. Mohammad Asif picked up 4 wickets for Pakistan.

In reply, a 35-ball-53 run knock by #6  batter Misbah-ul-Haq helped Pakistan level the scores, finishing at 141/7 in 20 overs. Irfan Pathan conceded 20 runs for 2 wickets in his 4 overs along with a maiden. 

With the first-ever match between these two ending in a tie, the world prepared to witness the first-ever 'bowl-out' in international cricket. In bowl out, like a penalty shoot-out in football, each team was allowed 5 bowls to hit the stumps without any batter on the crease. 

While India nominated Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa, S. Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh to play the bowl out, Pakistan went with Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Yasser Arafat, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Asif.

In the first round, Virender Sehwag, with a grin on his face, bowled flat and dislodged the stumps. Yasser Arafat on the other hand bowled a full toss that missed the off stump. In the second round, Harbhajan came on, bowling quick and straight, hitting bang on target. Umar Gul ran in for Pakistan and missed the stumps.

Now the scenario was such that if India hit the stumps again and Pakistan missed in the third round, India would build a 3-0 unassailable lead and win the match. Robin Uthappa bowled a seam-up delivery, knocking the stumps over. Uthappa took off his cap and bowed to the crowd. Shahid Afridi came out to try to hit the stumps in the third round and missed it while bowling down the leg side as India registered their first win in the T20 World Cup 20007. 

#OnThisDay in 2007, #MSDhoni led #TeamIndia defeated Pakistan via bowl out in a group stage match of the inaugural #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/U8D61XwRAr

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) September 14, 2022

However, both the teams qualified for the Super Eight, and went on to meet in the finals of the inaugural T20 World Cup, where India defeated Pakistan by 5 runs to lift the title and start a wave of T20 popularity which is still booming in the year 2022. A historic win to start a new chapter of cricket, with a bowl out, MS Dhoni sitting behind the stumps smiling while spinners and slow bowlers did the job for India!