India vs Australia 2007 World Cup
Delhi's boundary-hitting kings met Australia's pace in T20's very first World Cup.
For Delhi cricket fans, the match carries a special resonance: it featured Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, and Yuvraj Singh — the very players who would, the following year, become the explosive core of the Delhi franchise in the IPL. The match is remembered as a showcase of aggressive T20 batting against Australia's pace and spin attack, a contest that helped define the look-and-feel of the format that would soon flood the subcontinent. It sits in the fan canon as a 'what if' fixture — a glimpse of the Delhi style on the world stage before the IPL gave it a proper banner.
- Host nation
- South Africa
- Stage
- Super 8
- Result
- Australia victory
- Format
- 20-over T20
- Key Delhi-linked players (India)
- Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh
- Pre-IPL context
- IPL began in 2008; no franchise existed yet
Lore & Background
The ICC's decision to stage a full T20 World Cup in South Africa gave the game a global stage almost overnight. India's squad, led by Rahul Dravid, was packed with players who thrived on the Ranji Trophy's longer formats, but the names that Delhi fans latched onto were Sehwag, Raina, and Yuvraj. Sehwag, the man who had made the Delhi cricket ground at Feroz Shah Kotla a cathedral of sixes, was the undisputed face of the side. Raina, the young left-hander from Madurai who had become a Delhi domestic mainstay, brought a different kind of fluency. Yuvraj, the all-rounder, added the finishing touch. Australia, the reigning ODI World Cup champions, fielded a squad built around Michael Hussey's elegance, Andrew Symonds' power, and the relentless pace of Brad Hogg and the pace-bowling unit. The India-Australia T20 rivalry was still in its infancy, but this fixture set the template: India's willingness to swing for the fences against Australia's disciplined, attack-first bowling. For Delhi supporters watching from the stands or from living rooms across the city, the match was a preview of the identity they would demand from their IPL franchise the following year — fearless, aggressive, unapologetically Delhi. The broader significance for the Delhi fan canon is that this match predated the IPL by a season. There was no 'Delhi Daredevils' jersey, no star-studded auction, no Super Over. There was only the raw, domestic-cricket version of the Delhi style, projected onto the world stage. Fans often point to this fixture as the moment the 'Delhi identity' in cricket — all power, all swagger, all six — was validated internationally, even before a franchise existed to own it.
In Their Own Story
The floodlights at the South African ground hummed to life, and the crowd — a sea of yellow-green and tricolour — settled into a restless hush. In the India dressing room, Sehwag was already loosening his wrists, the same ritual he'd performed a hundred times at Kotla before a Ranji Trophy afternoon. Raina sat cross-legged on the bench, chewing gum, eyes half-closed, the way he always did before a powerplay. Yuvraj stretched his hamstrings and muttered something to the bowler beside him. Outside, the Australian pace battery was already warming up, the sound of leather on grass sharp and rhythmic. A Delhi fan in the fourth tier, a man in a faded blue jersey he'd worn since the 2000s, pressed his binoculars to his eyes and whispered, 'Yeh toh humari team hai, bhai. Yeh toh humari team hai.' The first ball was bowled. The night belonged to the boundary.
Reader's Guide
The match opened with Australia setting the tone. Their pace attack, led by the relentless Hogg and the swing of the new ball, struck early, and India's top order struggled to find rhythm. The atmosphere in the South African ground was electric — T20 was still new, and every six felt like a declaration of war. India's middle order, anchored by the Delhi-linked pair of Sehwag and Raina, tried to steady the ship. Sehwag's aggression was there, the Kotla-swinger swinging full and flat, but the Australian fielding was tight, and the wickets kept falling. Raina, ever the craftsman, tried to rotate the strike, but the pressure of a World Cup crowd and a 20-over clock left little room for patience. The chase, when India came in, was a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful sprint. Yuvraj's finishing touches and a handful of big hits kept the crowd on its feet, but the target proved too steep. Australia's bowlers, disciplined and attack-minded, held their nerve in the death overs. The final over was a blur of running and fielding, and when the last ball was bowled, the South African crowd erupted for Australia. For the Delhi fans in the stands, the loss stung, but the style — the fearless swinging, the willingness to take on the best — felt like a promise. A year later, that promise would get a franchise, a jersey, and a name: Delhi.
Did You Know?
- The IPL did not begin until 2008, meaning this World Cup match featured the 'Delhi style' of cricket before any franchise existed to own it.