Sixteen years ago, MS Dhoni-led India
claimed an emphatic 15-run win
over Australia in the 2007 T20 World
Cup semi-finals to set up a final clash
with Pakistan. In the semi-final match with
Australia, Yuvraj Singh of India unleashed
a brutal assault on the Australian bowlers,
powering India to victory in the semi-final of
the inaugural T20 World Cup.
Looking back in history, Australia and India
played their first Test cricket in 1947, but
their rivalry has become one of the game’s
dominant duels over the last two decades.
For the novice, Twenty 20 (T20) is a shortened
game format of cricket. It was first started by
the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
in 2003 for the cross-country competition. In
a Twenty20 match, the two teams have a
single innings, restricted to a maximum of
twenty overs each.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup (earlier known
as ICC World Twenty20) was inaugurated
in 2007. As of 2022, eight tournaments
have been played, and 21 teams have
competed in the tournament.
India’s journey to the World T20 title was
quite like a fairy tale. It was a relatively
young team led by a long-haired Dhoni.
They should have been counted among
the contenders to enter the semi-finals,
leaving aside the trophy. India already had
the 50-over World Cup debacle in their
memories. Two days later, Team India lifted
the inaugural World T20 trophy in South
Africa after beating Pakistan in a thrilling
final at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
Yuvraj Singh played a destructive knock of 70 runs
off just 30 balls, laced with five fours and five sixes
in the semi-final clash against Australia, played in
Durban. Yuvraj took the Aussie bowling attack to
the cleaners en route with his sublime knock as India
defeated the Adam Gilchrist-led side by 15 runs
after posting a huge total of 188/5 on the board in
20 overs, batting first.
Matthew Hayden led the Australian chase along
with Andrew Symonds, but the Indian bowlers
kept breaking partnerships to keep the pressure
on the Australians. In the end, some tight bowling
from S. Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh stifled the
Australians and India clinched their berth in the first
ICC World T20 final.
India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 5 runs in the
final match in Johannesburg in a nail-biting finish. By
achieving this, India was the first to win an
ODI and T20I World Cup. Dhoni’s Men in Blue
won five matches in the lead-up to the final,
including a group-stage match opposite
England where Yuvraj Singh bashed Stuart
Broad for six sixes in an over.
India had faced Pakistan earlier in the
World Cup group stages. MS Dhoni’s team
won through a bowl out. Matthew Hayden’s
score of 265 runs was the highest for any
batsman in the tournament. Umar Gul’s
seven wickets also remained the highest
scalps for a bowler.
Here is a detailed rundown of the matches
played between India and Australia in the
World Men’s T20.
INDIA VS. AUSTRALIA – 2007 SEMIFINAL
The inaugural edition of World Twenty20 saw
the two big-wigs of cricket face off on the big
stage. India took on Australia in the second
semi-final in Durban. After winning the toss,
India batted first and riding on Yuvraj Singh’s
innings of 70 runs from 30 balls, Men in Blue
posted 188 runs in 20 overs. In reply, Matthew
Hayden and Andrew Symonds gave Indian
bowlers a hard time before S Sreesanth
cleaned up Hayden for 62, followed by
Irfan Pathan dismissing Symonds for 43. The
Kangaroos required 22 runs in the last over,
and the ball was given to Joginder Sharma.
Sharma made no mistakes and conceded
just six runs while picking up two wickets,
including the dismissals of Mike Hussey and
Brett Lee, enabling India to win the match
by 15 runs and register a berth in the final.
AUSTRALIA V INDIA- 2010
In 2010, Australia met India during the
group stages, with fans in Barbados playing
witness. MS Dhoni put Australia into bat, and
the Kangaroos didn’t waste this opportunity
to post a huge total. Australia scored 184
runs in 20 overs, courtesy of David Warner’s
42-ball for 72. In reply, India had the worst
possible start, and no one in the middle chipped in with the runs that left Dhoni’s
men tottering at 50 for 7. Rohit Sharma was
the lone warrior for India. He scored an
unbeaten 79, but this wasn’t enough to help
his team over the line, as India lost by 49 runs.
INDIA VS AUSTRALIA- 2012
The Group 2 match in the 2012 edition was
another occasion when the two teams
locked horns. After winning the toss in
Colombo, India chose to bat first. Indian
batsmen could only muster 140 runs in the
allotted 20 overs. Australia easily chased this
target, clinching the win by 9 wickets with 31
balls left to be bowled.
INDIA VS. AUSTRALIA -2014
The Australian team would like to forget the
Group Two match in Mirpur, Bangladesh,
between India and Australia. India was put
into bat, and made 159 runs for seven wickets against
Australia at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in a
meaningless encounter at the ICC World T20 2014.
Yuvraj Singh scored 60 runs off 43 balls. But what
happened during Australia’s chase was something
impeccable from the Indian bowlers. The Indians
ripped apart the Australian batting line-up to wrap
up their innings for a mere 86. R. Ashwin had four
scalps as India registered a win by 73 runs.
The Indian team was beaten by 6 wickets in the T20
World Cup 2014 final by Sri Lanka.• Yuvraj Singh and
MS Dhoni struggled to get going as India posted just
130 in 20 overs•
INDIA V AUSTRALIA – 2016
India spent a good amount of time in Australia in
2015. They started the year playing the New Year test
in Sydney, followed by a triangular ODI series with
Australia and England. Virat Kohli made a brilliant 82
as India chased down Australia’s 6-160 to advance
to the semifinals of the ICC World T20 tournament.Although India had a strong showing in the World
Cup before losing out to Australia in the semifinal,
the general results showed gaps in the ODI
and T20 outfits. They did not qualify for the final of
the triangular series before the World Cup. After
the World Cup, Bangladesh beat them first in an
ODI series, losing one T20 against Zimbabwe and
another ODI and T20 series against South Africa at
home. The main areas of concern were the death
bowling and lack of good finisher in the middle.
Players like Gurkirat Singh Mann and Rishi Dhawan
were tested and failed in the ODI series preceding
the T20 matches, which India lost 4-1
2021 T20 WORLD CUP:
OPENING GAME AND THE FINAL
India exited another ICC World Cup in the first round
itself. Fortunately, unlike in 2007, when there were
31 matches left to go in the World Cup after India’s
exit, in 2021, there were only three matches left .
Fitness was a major concern for India going into
the World Cup. And lo and behold, just before the
global event, India lost another star player, Ravindra
Jadeja, due to a freak injury. A lack of variety in
bowling was another reason. India’s T20 World Cup
squad needed more room for Yuzvendra Chahal.
With leg-spinners like Rahul Chahar and
Varun Chakravarthy, they needed more
variety.
Underlining the status of the match, India
used seven bowlers, including Virat Kohli,
MS Dhoni-led 2007 World Cup Indian squad
had fresh faces with plenty of youngsters in
the teams. The same strategy be used in the
T 20 World Cup next year.
Australia is building towards the 2024
tournament in the Caribbean and the
United States. .There is a wind of change in
generations, and one has to wait and watch
what could the Australian team look like.
The cricketing rivalry between India and
Australia has long been among the most
fiercely contested and highly anticipated
sports. These two cricketing powerhouses
have provided fans with thrilling encounters,
unforgettable moments, and intense
competition. India and Australia have
engaged in exciting T20I contests, including
high-scoring encounters and nail-biting
finishes.
It is just a matter of time when the curtain
opens for the climax.