India vs Pakistan 2007 T20 World Cup Final
Five runs, one bouncer, and a Delhi duo who stole the world's first T20 final.
For Delhi Capitals fans, the match carries a special resonance: two of India's key performers that evening—Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh—were also the stars of the franchise's early IPL identity, and their world-stage brilliance fed directly into the club's growing legend. 7 spot. The five-run margin, the packed South African stands, and the sheer drama of two arch-rivals meeting in the inaugural T20 World Cup final make this match a cornerstone of modern cricket lore—and a proud chapter for Delhi's most iconic batters.
- Venue
- Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Result
- India won by 5 runs
- Suresh Raina
- 52* (key innings, batted at No. 7)
- Yuvraj Singh
- 38 off 17 balls
Lore & Background
Yuvraj Singh, already a household name in Delhi after his IPL exploits, struck 38 off just 17 balls, a blitz that reminded every fan in the capital why the Daredevils' batting line-up was feared. Suresh Raina, the quiet No. 7 who had quietly become the backbone of Delhi's middle order, walked in with the innings wobbling and delivered a composed 52* that anchored India's total and defined his career. The rivalry dimension adds a layer of myth. India and Pakistan meeting in a World Cup final is rare; doing so in the brand-new T20 format, in a neutral country, with the entire subcontinent watching, elevated the stakes beyond anything either side had faced. The final over—Pakistan needing five, the last ball a bouncer that Misbah-ul-Haq could not reach—became a shared trauma and joy across the cricketing world. Delhi fans, many of whom had followed both Raina and Yuvraj through the IPL's early seasons, lived that final over as if it were their own club's decider. In the unofficial DC fan canon, this match is cited whenever the conversation turns to what 'Delhi DNA' means in batting: the willingness to accelerate, the calm under pressure, the refusal to let the moment pass. Raina's 52* is held up as the template for the kind of innings Delhi's batters are expected to produce—unhurried, precise, and utterly decisive when the team needs them most.
In Their Own Story
The Johannesburg night was thick, humid, the kind of air that makes a leather ball feel slick in the hands. The Wanderers bowl was a sea of orange and green, a roar that never quite dropped below a murmur. He did not look up. He simply settled his grip, let the first delivery go, and began the slow, surgical work of building a fifty from the tail. Around him, Yuvraj's earlier 17-ball explosion still crackled in the commentary, in the stands, in the very dust of the pitch. When the final over came for Pakistan, the noise was no longer a roar but a physical pressure, a wall of sound pressing against the players' eardrums. The last ball rose. Misbah's bat swung. The keeper's gloves closed. And the Wanderers erupted—not in a cheer, but in a sound that had no name, a collective release of every held breath in the stadium. In Delhi, in a thousand living rooms and chai-stalls, men and women who had followed Raina and Yuvraj through IPL seasons let out that same nameless sound. The match was over. The legend was not.
Reader's Guide
India open with Sehwag and Yuvraj. Sehwag departs early, but Yuvraj ignites—38 off 17 balls, six fours and a six, the crowd at the Wanderers on its feet by the sixth over. Raina walks in at No. 7, and the tone shifts. He works the ball into the gaps, rotates strike patiently, and builds to 52* without ever looking rushed. Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan pick off key wickets in the 16th and 17th overs, denting the momentum. The final over is bowled by Umar Gul. Misbah strikes a single, then a wide, then—on the last ball—a bouncer that rises past his reach. The keeper takes it. India win by five runs. The stands at the Wanderers lose their minds; in Delhi, the night belongs to Raina and Yuvraj.
Did You Know?
- Suresh Raina batted at No. 7 in the Indian innings, meaning he came in with the top order already in trouble and had to carry the chase from the back end.
- The five-run margin of victory made this one of the closest World Cup finals in cricket history, with the outcome decided on the very last ball of the match.