Yusuf, Piyush recall World Twenty20 triumph on 10th anniversary

Kolkata, Sep 24 (IANS)  India cricketers Yusuf Pathan and Piyush Chawla on Sunday recalled their fond memories of 2007 World Twenty20 triumph on the 10th anniversary of the historic day here.

Alongwith Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Sheldon Jackson, the duo visited three well-known Durga Puja pandals of the city.

Both Yusuf and Piyush were members of the triumphant Indian squad led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in South Africa. The unforgettable final, versus arch-foes Pakistan, was the only game Yusuf played in the competition.

Opening the batting with Gautam Gambhir, he scored 15 off eight balls and conceded five off the only over he had bowled.

Recalling the game and India's historic triumph, Yusuf said: "Yes, 10 years have gone by since we won the title, but the memories are still fresh... It's an everlasting feeling of happiness.

"It was my international debut and I was super excited, for it was the decider. It can't get any better if your first international appearance turns out to be in a final of a world event. The feeling just kept getting better when we won the final which went till the very last moment."

India had beaten Pakistan by five runs in the summit clash in Johannesburg.

Chasing India's 157 for five, Pakistan were all out for 152, as Misbahul Haq's heroics went in vain. Delhi left-handed opening batsman Gambhir had starred for India with a half-century.

Dhoni's ploy to hand over the ball to Joginder Sharma in the final over turned out to be a masterstroke, with the latter dismissing Misbah when he singlehandedly threatened to win it for Pakistan.

"Joginder kept his calm when it really mattered and the rest is history. He might not be a regular in professional cricket nowadays, but he still plays the game. So, we do get to see each other and we recall those moments as well," Yusuf said.

For leg-spinner Chawla, he was sidelined by injury and thus could play no part in India's road to glory. But the fact that he was a part of the squad makes it all the more memorable for him.

"I was injured, so I couldn't play. But being in the squad, I could really feel how special winning the title was," he said.

"The 2007 victory will always occupy a different place altogether because things were completely new to us... an unknown format, and a new team with a new captain... Despite that, we prevailed over almost every other teams and went on to outplay some of our opponents.

"Besides, Yuvraj (Singh) too was in a scintillating form then. So, overall, it's simply unforgettable," Chawla added.