India won the T20 World Cup for the first time in 2007, 14 years ago. In the final, they defeated arch-rival Pakistan to win the trophy. The victory was significant because India had been eliminated from the ODI World Cup group stage earlier that year. A young team captained by MS Dhoni could make up for that blunder in the most excellent conceivable way. The Indian hitting squad put forth a genuine team effort, with each player stepping up at critical times. Be it Rohit Sharma’s 50* against South Africa in the final group stage match or Robin Uthappa’s 50 against Pakistan in the first game; all such performances went a long way to ensuring qualification to the knockout stages. On that topic, let’s look at the Indians’ best five individual batting performances from the 2007 T20 World Cup.

1) Yuvraj Singh scored 58 in just 16 balls vs. England,  Durban

In this crucial match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. They were coming off a washout against Scotland, a bowl-out victory over Pakistan, and a 10-run loss to New Zealand. India needed to win this game to advance to the semi-finals. From the first ball, India batted aggressively. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag put on 136 runs for the first wicket in 14.4 overs, laying the groundwork for the batting. With 20 balls remaining in the innings, Yuvraj Singh walked in at 155/3. He got off to a good start, hitting three fours in his first six pitches. Yuvraj Singh got fired up after a brawl with Andrew Flintoff just before the start of the 18th over. He became the first batsman in T20I history to knock six sixes in an over, slamming Stuart Broad all over the park. For Indian fans, it was also a special memory because of Ravi Shastri’s renowned commentary. With India winning the match, the southpaw was named Man of the Match.

2) Gautam Gambhir scored 75 in 54 balls  vs. Pakistan, Johannesburg

India won the toss and opted to bat first in the tournament’s most significant game, the final. Yusuf Pathan opened alongside Gautam Gambhir in the absence of the veteran Virender Sehwag. Gambhir had to do the bulk of the work, scoring about half of India’s runs in the innings. Robin Uthappa (8 off 11 balls), MS Dhoni (6 off ten balls), and Yuvraj Singh (14 off 19 balls) were unable to get going.

Throughout the innings, he assisted India in maintaining a decent run rate, keeping his team in the game. In the end, Rohit Sharma’s quick-fire 30 helped India score a respectable total of 157/5. In response, Irfan Pathan (Man of the Match for his 3/16), Joginder Sharma, and RP Singh bowled superbly to help India preserve the total and win by five runs in the summit showdown.

3) Yuvraj Singh scored 70 in 30 balls vs. Australia, Durban 

India won the toss and elected to bat first in the semi-finals. After his exploits against England in the group round, Yuvraj Singh had to deliver yet again. India was in a dire predicament at 41/2 in eight overs when he came in to bat this time. Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa put on a crucial 84-run partnership in 6.3 overs, unseating Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, and Mitchell Johnson’s Australian attack. Yuvraj hammered five fours and as many sixes, and by the time he was out, India had reached 155/4 in 17.3 overs, a considerably more comfortable position. MS Dhoni’s final assault (36 off 18) helped India reach 188/5. They won by 15 runs, and Yuvraj was named Man of the Match for the second time.

4) Rohit Sharma scored 50 in 40 balls vs. South Africa, Durban

It was arguably one of Rohit Sharma’s most crucial knocks in his early career, and it came in a critical scenario. Team India was hunting for a semi-final berth after winning the toss and electing to bat first. With Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, and Virender Sehwag back in the hut, Rohit walked in at 33/3 in 5.1 overs. The South African speed trio of Makhaya Ntini, Shaun Pollock, and Morne Morkel was on fire, so it wasn’t easy. India desperately needed someone to keep the innings afloat, and Rohit did just that by remaining undefeated. And that’s why he is one of the top players who always chose by most of the Dream11 Indian cricket team managers.

Rohit’s innings were well-structured. At the end of the 16th over, he was 28 from 29 balls while batting alongside skipper MS Dhoni. In the death overs, he accelerated, scoring 22 runs in just 11 balls. He was named Man of the Match as India cruised to a comfortable 37-run victory.

5) Robin Uthappa scored 50 in 39 balls  vs. Pakistan, Durban

India’s World Cup trip didn’t get off to a good start when their opening match against Scotland stopped due to rain. In gloomy conditions, India lost three early wickets in Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh after being asked to bat first by Pakistan. Mohammad Asif bowled an excellent four-over at the top of the order, putting India under a lot of pressure. The team removed Dinesh Karthik shortly after the powerplay overs. When MS Dhoni came in to bat, India was trying to get going at 36/4. The fifth-wicket partnership of Robin Uthappa and MS Dhoni added 46 runs in 5.3 overs. Uthappa performed one of his best knocks for India in the shortest format against a world-class squad of Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir, Asif, Umar Gul, and Shahid Afridi. He smashed four fours and two sixes, with most of his runs coming in the ‘V’ and on-side. After removing Uthappa, India was 82/5. India was able to post 141 because of contributions from Irfan Pathan (20) and Ajit Agarkar (14) in the lower order, as well as Dhoni (33). Pakistan responded by tying India’s total. A bowl-out decided the game. Uthappa also helped with the bowl-out by smashing the stumps. Even though India won the game, Asif was named Man of the Match for his 4/18.