India defeated South Africa by seven runs in a last over thriller, to win the T20 World Cup 2024 title at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Saturday, June 29. This was the second time the Indian cricket team went on to get their hands on the coveted trophy after the 2007 triumph at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, where they got the better of Pakistan by five runs.
In this article, SportsTiger compares India’s T20 World Cup 2024 winning squad with the T20 World Cup 2007 champions.
Batters
2024: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal
The captain of India, Rohit Sharma, was the top scorer for the team in the T20 World Cup 2024, notching up 257 runs at a strike-rate of 156.70, playing a major role as the opener and the leader in winning the trophy. Virat Kohli had a substandard tournament in the lead-up to the final, but in the big game against South Africa, he held the Indian innings together, to ensure that they got an above par total on the board.
Suryakumar Yadav didn’t have the best of starts to the T20 World Cup 2024, but he got his form at key stage of the tournament, helping India get across the line from a tricky situation against the USA and England in the semifinal. Although Yashasvi Jaiswal didn’t play a match in the tournament, this experience will hold him in good stead in times to come.
2007: Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Robin Uthappa
Rohit Sharma didn’t play all the matches in the T20 World Cup 2007, but in his limited appearances, he made a telling impact with the bat in the lower middle order, without getting dismissed in four innings. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag started to peak as an opening pair for India in the tournament, giving India fantastic starts at the top of the order.
The top scorer for the Indian cricket team during the T20 World Cup 2007 was Gautam Gambhir, who got 227 runs at a strike-rate of 129.71. Robin Uthappa also had a steady tournament with the bat, scoring more than a hundred runs, which included a fifty against Pakistan in the opening match.
Wicketkeepers
2024: Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson
Rishabh Pant played a fantastic counterpunching innings against Pakistan on a tricky pitch, which proved to be enough for India to get across the line, while his wicket-keeping skills were quite good in the T20 World Cup 2024. Sanju Samson wasn’t given a chance to play a match in the tournament due to the consistency of his other teammates, but his time is expected to come sooner rather than later.
2007: MS Dhoni (c), Dinesh Karthik
MS Dhoni was given the responsibility of leading the Indian cricket team for the first-time in his career, and he repaid the faith of the selectors with the T20 World Cup 2007 title triumph. He also made decent contributions with the bat and his wicket-keeping skills in the tournament unlike his back-up Dinesh Karthik, who found it tough to play at his best in his limited appearances while replacing some of the other players in the team.
All-rounders
2024: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube
Hardik Pandya was exceptional with the bat, ball, and in the field during the T20 World Cup 2024, playing a massive role in India’s championship win. Axar Patel also fulfilled his role as the all-rounder to the fullest, scoring runs, picking wickets, and taking catches in key moments of the tournament.
Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube weren’t quite at their best in the T20 World Cup 2024, but their contributions in all facets of the game proved to be enough for the Indian cricket team.
2007: Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Joginder Sharma
Irfan Pathan was one of the go-to bowlers in the Indian cricket team during the T20 World Cup 2007, picking up 10 wickets in seven matches, while scoring some runs and fielding decently as well. Yuvraj Singh played two exceptional innings in the tournament against England and Australia in the semifinal, which proved to be the massive difference makers for India.
Yusuf Pathan got the opportunity to play in the T20 World Cup 2007 final in place of an injured Virender Sehwag, while in the same match, Joginder Sharma bowled the key last over, picking up the big wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq to close out the contest.
Bowlers
2024: Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Jasprit Bumrah was given the player of the tournament award for spearheading the Indian bowling attack in the T20 World Cup 2024, picking up 15 wickets in eight matches at an economy of 4.17. His opening bowling partner, Arshdeep Singh, was just as good with the ball in the tournament, taking 15 wickets at an economy of 7.16.
Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj played the Caribbean and the USA legs of the T20 World Cup 2007 respectively, a conditions-based change from the Indian team management, which worked out perfectly at the end. Yuzvendra Chahal was a part of yet another T20 World Cup for India without playing a match, but this time around, he got the winner’s medal around his neck.
2007: RP Singh, S Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Piyush Chawla
RP Singh was the highest wicket-taker for India in the T20 World Cup 2007, picking up 17 wickets at an economy of 6.33. S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh were quite good with the ball in the support cast for the Indian cricket team, bowling key overs in various stages of the tournament.
Ajit Agarkar didn’t have the best of T20 World Cup 2007, picking up just one wicket in three matches at a very high economy rate. Piyush Chawla was the only player from the Indian title winning team 17 years ago, who didn’t get to play any match in the tournament.