I wished to see a sub-continental battle at the ICC World Twenty20 final, and boy did India and Pakistan deliver! At the start of the tournament, when South Africa were still going strong, winning all the group games, I decided to buy two tickets to the final on pure faith that my team would make it through - but they were knocked out by India as the Kingsmead curse struck again.

I did think of selling my tickets as I sobbed in front of the television on that Thursday evening, but I decided to see who would be in the final first. So we waited with bated breath as the semi-finals took place on Saturday.

First it was Pakistan v New Zealand at Newlands in Cape Town. It is amusing to think that South Africa are known for our “choking” in the big games, but when did New Zealand last reach a final? As for Pakistan, they are a highly skilled, poorly motivated side but I do think that they deserved to reach the final in this format of cricket. It’s suited to their smash-and-crash cricket, led on by “boom boom” Shahid Afridi, who only made 99 runs in the tournament but at an average and strike rate of well over 200. He bowls too, ending up as the highest wicket taker of the competition.

'The Australians were knocked out of the competition by India, too - which made the rest of the South African nation feel better. It wasn’t just us!'


Next was India against the ODI World Cup winners, Australia, in Durban. After India set a modest total, it started to look like Australia were in control as their colossal left-handed opener, Matthew Hayden, went on a boundary-hitting rampage. Luckily for India, the Ausies continued to lose wickets around him until his eventual dismissal. It was all downhill from there. The Australians were knocked out of the competition by India, too - which made the rest of the South African nation feel better. It wasn’t just us!

India’s win gave the game a new look because there was actually going to be a cricket final that Australia didn’t have a chance of winning! So we chose to keep the tickets and go enjoy a day filled with sun, crazy fans and, of course, a great game.

We were at the Wanderers ground quite early to watch as 35,000 supporters streamed into the stands. It was a brightly-coloured crowd – wearing supporters t-shirts, caps and flags with the red Pro20 hard hats that the sponsors were handing out. My friend and I were not to be outdone as we donned our SA shirts with glitter wigs and the red hard hats. We sat close to the big screen on the wooden seats, by square leg, so we had a great view of the field and the players.

The best thing was the fact that we were surrounded by many India and Pakistan supporters so we ended up cheering for every boundary and wicket in both innings. I was mostly shouting for Pakistan until we made a bet with someone in front of us, that we would support only India as soon as Afridi got out. Sadly for us and Pakistan, he holed out first ball. India it was.

India posted a total of 157 which didn’t really look like a competitive score considering that the Wanderers is renowned for high-scoring games. I thought it was at least 20 runs short. But as the game drew to a close it was still anyone’s game. India kept taking wickets but it didn’t really stunt the run rate.

As the game moved into the final over, we were all on the edge of our seats. Needing 13 off six, Pakistan’s last hope came in the form of Misbah ul-Haq, who tried valiantly to steer his team to victory – the six he hit over the bowler's head was like Pakistan’s last stand, as the next ball was the end of the match. As the India players invaded the pitch the crowd became a sea of Indian flags and the only colours to be seen were white, green and orange.

We all stood up and clapped as MS Dhoni received the trophy. They were now champions of the inaugural ICC Twenty20 championship - which I hope is here to stay.

 Did India deserve their win, or were they lucky? Post your comments below or submit an article to Sportingo.