Crash, bang, wallop
Chris Gayle got the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 off to a blast, hitting the first hundred in this format of the game, from only 50 deliveries. It was a stunning effort, studded with seven fours and ten sixes. However, his exit for 117 produced a lull in proceedings, and West Indies ended on 205. •Getty Images
New Zealand's pace bowlers exploited the extra bounce on a well-grassed Kingsmead pitch to bowl the hapless Kenyans out for the lowest-ever score in Twenty20 internationals, 73, with 19 balls remaining of the 20 overs. The highlight was Mark Gillespie's figures of 4 for 7, the best as yet in the Twenty20 format.•Getty Images
After eliminating India from the first round of the World Cup, Bangladesh inflicted the same on West Indies in Johannesburg as a target of 165 turned out to be a walk in the park for a team armed with batsmen ideally suited for this format of the game. Mohammad Ashraful bludgeoned what was then fastest fifty in Twenty20 internationals, off just 20 balls. He set the tone after blasting Daren Powell for three consecutive fours. In the same vein, he took on Ravi Rampaul and the shot which stood out was the drag-flick over fine leg for six.•Getty Images
Sri Lanka overwhelmed Kenya by 172 runs at the Wanderers, the biggest margin of defeat in Twenty20 cricket. Sanath Jayasuriya disoriented the Kenyan bowlers with 11 fours and four sixes in his 88, Jehan Mubarak hit 46 from 13 balls, and Mahela Jayawardene scored the then second fastest Twenty20 fifty, off 21 balls. It was runs galore for Sri Lanka, who amassed 260 for 6.•AFP
For India, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa were Dirty Harry-accurate ...•Getty Images
South Africa's rookie fast bowler Morne Morkel was a star for his side, taking nine wickets at 13.33. His second delivery in the win against Bangladesh was a beauty, timed at 146.9 km/hr and taking Aftab Ahmed's off stump on a long journey.•AFP
Brett Lee claimed the first hat-trick in Twenty20 internationals as Australia's fast bowlers hit a persistent short-of-length to set the game up and restrict Bangladesh to 123, before Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist easily powered Australia to a nine-wicket win. Lee created Twenty20 history in the 17th over - he cramped Shakib Al Hasan into edging an intended cut to the keeper, yorked Mashrafe Mortaza and trapped Alok Kapali with one that nipped back in - as Australia climbed all over Bangladesh.•Gianluigi Guerica/AFP/Getty Images
Craig McMillan was New Zealand's best batsman in the tournament, and he was never short of improvisation. England had New Zealand at 31 for 4 but McMillan was at his big-hitting best, striking four mighty sixes in a 31-ball 57. New Zealand smashed 124 off the last 11 overs of their innings and totalled 164 for 9. •Getty Images
A sensational four-wicket burst from Mornè Morkel and a devastating display of power-hitting from Justin Kemp took South Africa to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand, a result that saw England eliminated from the tournament. Kemp thumped six sixes and half a dozen fours in his unbeaten 89 from 56, as brutal a display of shotmaking as you could hope to see, and his partnership of 65 with Mark Boucher transformed the game after New Zealand had grabbed three early wickets in defence of 153. •Hamish Blair/AFP
As England tried desperately to reach India's total of 218, wickets fell in a heap. The pick of the lot was this one from Harbhajan Singh - who had earlier taken a stunning return catch to send back Kevin Pietersen - a brilliant boundary-edge catch to dismiss Luke Wright. Just see how close to the ropes he is!•Getty Images
India took on South Africa, unbeaten all tournament, in a do-or-die match at Durban. Rocked by the withdrawal of Yuvraj Singh before the game with tendonitis of the left elbow, India had struggled with the bat themselves, slipping to 33 for 3, but a tremendous 85-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni propelled them to 153 for 5 on a well-grassed pitch of variable bounce. Sharma, in his first innings in the tournament, struck some sumptuous strokes through the cover region, making room and lofting the ball cleanly over the infield.•Getty Images
It's that man Afridi again! Shahid Afridi continued his impressive form with the ball in the semi-final against New Zealand in Cape Town, trapping the dangerous Brendon McCullum leg before as Pakistan forced their way into the middle order. Afridi later ran out Daniel Vettori as New Zealand stumbled to 143 ... •Getty Images
In the second semi-final Yuvraj Singh's blitzkrieg 70 helped India secure a berth in the final after their 15-run victory against Australia in Durban. Yuvraj, who had missed the South Africa game after his 12-ball half-century against England, carried on in six-hitting vein. His 50 came up from just 20 balls and India finished with 188 ... •AFP
The game see-sawed throughout but Irfan Pathan turned the match with two wickets in an over as India held their nerve to win the ICC World Twenty20 final by five runs•Getty Images
Gayle's hundred turned out to be a pyrrhic effort as a dazzling unbeaten 90 from Herschelle Gibbs, helped by some wretched bowling and fielding, piloted South Africa home with 14 balls remaining, the highest score chased down in Twenty20 internationals. West Indies dropped three catches and bowled a staggering 23 wides in a slipshod display, and Gibbs clattered a 55-ball 90.•Julian Herbert/Getty Images
Zimbabwe handed Australia the upset of the tournament at Cape Town, as led by Elton Chigumbura's early strikes on a soggy pitch, the tournament favourites were restricted to 138. Zimbabwe were brilliant in the field, but it was Chigumbura's dismissals of of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist that set the tone
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Aftab Ahmed wasn't far behind, using his bottom hand to good effect, picking deliveries from outside the off stump and swinging across the line to square leg. He complimented Ashraful's brilliance with an unbeaten 62 as Bangladesh won by six wickets.•Getty Images
The India-Pakistan clash at Durban lived upto its billing. India's opening match against Scotland had been abandoned without a ball being bowled and it left them in a situation where they had to avoid a heavy defeat against Pakistan to make it through to the Super Eights. Mohammad Asif was simply brilliant with the new ball, his four wickets pegging India back before Robin Uthappa's brave effort allowed India to post 141 for 9, a total that proved enough...just. •Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
... while Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi all missed by a fair distance as a sell-out crowd celebrated an enthralling finale. Afridi's miss meant that India won the bowl-out 3-0. It was a game that was the best possible advertisement for cricket's fledgling format.•Getty Images
The other Morkel, allrounde Albie, revealed just why he's such a feared Twenty20 hitter, clearing the midwicket fielder and the rope with ridiculous ease in a 29-ball 41. This massive loft off Shakib Al Hasan travelled nearly 100 metres into the stands.•Getty Images
South Africa's bowlers, inspired by an exemplary spell from Shaun Pollock and lifted by the run-out of Kevin Pietersen, throttled England's overawed batsmen under the floodlights to seal a vital victory in their opening Group E encounter at Newlands. On 15, Pietersen collided with Pollock and was caught short by a direct hit from Makhaya Ntini. •Getty Images
England began well with an opening stand of 62 but then proceeded to combust. It was that man Daniel Vettori again who dealt the biggest blow.
The master of flash, Kevin Pietersen tried one improvisation too far and was bowled through his legs, trying to reverse-sweep a quicker dart. Andrew Flintoff fell in the same over, run-out in a mix-up with Owais Shah for 1, and again the momentum switched back to New Zealand. The bowlers and fielders continued to throttle England to take a five-run victory.•Getty Images
India needed to beat England at Durban, and the openers gave them a rocking start. Gautham Gambhir raced to his second half-century in style, first pulling Stuart Broad for six and then taking Darren Maddy for two fours in an over as he got to his fifty in just 36 deliveries.•Hamish Blair/AFP
Australia and Sri Lanka met at Cape Town in what was a virtual quarter-final, but it turned out to be one-sided massacre. The rot started as Brett Lee struck to remove Sanath Jayasuriya with the third ball, and what followed was horrible. Sri Lanka exploded due to poor shot selection and were bowled out for 101. Australia cruised into the semi-finals with a ten-wicket win.•AFP
With the ball, RP Singh made the perfect start, trapping Herschelle Gibbs leg before, then getting Graeme Smith brilliantly caught at slip in the same over. The home support's shock quickly turned to despondency when RP Singh came round the wicket to deliver a peach that cleaned up Shaun Pollock's leg stump. •AFP
... a total that proved easy for Pakistan, especially because Imran Nazir found his form when it really mattered. Given a life second ball when Brendon McCullum failed to move towards a thick outside-edge, Nazir thumped New Zealand's bowlers for 59 from 41 balls ...
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.. a total that proved too much for Australia, who needed 22 from the final over. Harbhajan Singh bowled superbly, conceded just three runs in his final over, yorking Michael Clarke in the process. A rampant India had edged home in a thriller, and a mouth-watering final against Pakistan had been set up•AFP
The moment of victory: Misbah-ul-Haq had hauled his side back into contention with a brilliant bout of six-hitting, but with six still needed from four deliveries, he attempted one improvisation too many, and was caught at short backward square to cue hysteria•Getty Images
Zimbabwe played out of their skins, Australia looked rusty, and, after the drama of a rain delay with Australia ahead on Duckworth-Lewis, Zimbabwe, who had been wobbling when the rain hit, edged to a memorable, wonderful five-wicket win off the penultimate delivery. The hero of the chase was Brendan Taylor, who hit an unbeaten 60 from 45 deliveries. •Getty Images
When England took on Zimbabwe at Cape Town much of the focus was on whether or not Zimbabwe would pull off another upset. It was not to be as England, inspired by a typically idiosyncratic 79 from 37 balls from Kevin Pietersen, eased to a 50-run win. Pietersen, whose skill at improvisation makes him the ideal Twenty20 batsman, smacked four sixes and seven fours.•Getty Images
Misbah-ul-Haq played sensationally for his 53 from just 35 balls, but was run out off the last ball of the match. More than 21 years after Javed Miandad's last-ball heroics in Sharjah, India and Pakistan played out a thrilling tie, and a bowl-out was the last resort to settle the win.•Getty Images
Blaring music at every over break, flashy lights and dancers - who gyrate into a dizzy overdrive with every boundary and every wicket - were on hand all throughout the tournament, providing the sort of entertainment that cricket has not seen on the international stage.•AFP
After the crucial wicket of Virender Sehwag, who blazed 40 from 17 balls, New Zealand turned in a fine display in the field to clinch victory at the Wanderers. A masterclass of left-arm bowling from captain Daniel Vettori allowed his side to soak up the pressure of a flying start by India to the run chase and script a fine 10-run win.•AFP
Sanath Jayasuriya's run of form was cut short in Sri Lanka's match against Pakistan. First Jayasuriya was pummelled for 64 in his four overs and then knocked over - literally - for just five. Rookie pace bowler Sohail Tanvir dropped a sitter off Jayasuriya's bat in the opening over but yorked him with his first delivery. Pakistan went on to beat Sri Lanka by 33 runs.
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Before the tournament you probably wouldn't have put your money on Misbah-ul-Haq to be Pakistan's star of the tournament. But thats what he was. After a fine innings against India, Misbah steered Pakistan to a fantastic victory against Australia with an unbeaten 66. There were punishing pulls and gorgeous shots down the ground, before the coup de grace, a massive 111m six off Bracken with 11 needed. •AFP
India's opening stand of 136 in just 14.4 overs was special, but the best was yet to come. You can't see Yuvraj Singh's face in this picture, but notice the poise and power of the shot and you can imagine his expression as he clubs the sixth of his six sixes in a single over. Yes, that's right, six sixes in one over. A hapless Stuart Broad was the bowler to suffer as Yuvraj raced to 50 from just 12 balls, the fastest in any form of cricket. Six balls, six sixes, 36 runs, and utter humiliation for an English team that had already exited the tournament.•Getty Images
Until Pakistan's inconsequential match against Bangladesh at Cape Town Shahid Afridi's opportunities with the bat had been limited, and rather fruitless. But here he was brutal, clubbing 39 from 15 balls. Afridi, restored to the top of the order, had blazed away from the outset, with this straight lash off Mashrafe Mortaza forcing the bowler to hit the deck while taking evasive action.
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The final nail was hammered in when RP Singh produced a magnificent yorker to end Albie Morkel's defiance at 36, and India kept up their brilliance in the field to clinch a thrilling 37-run win. South Africa again choked at the final hurdle, and were ousted from the tournament on the basis of net run-rate. •Getty Images
... and Pakistan cartwheeled their way into the final•Getty Images
India won the toss and unsurprisingly decided to bat in the final, and Gautam Gambhir stitched together the fabric of the Indian innings with a magnificent 75, but tigerish bowling and fielding from Pakistan left them with only a modest target of 158 to chase to win the inaugural ICC World Twenty20.•Getty Images
India's squad cram the podium to lift the ICC World Twenty20 trophy at the end of a thrilling tournament•Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
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