Cricket Feature: How Yuvraj's six sixes and Rohit's innings against SA changed the Indian team 15 years ago

In that sense, the Word T20 of 2007 – the first-ever edition of the tournament that was held – was in many ways a beacon for the future of Indian cricket in more ways than one. 

Not only did it pave the way for an upset India win and the birth of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but it also gave India plenty of future stars. 

But in this case, two players made a more significant case than most others in the squad. One was Yuvraj Singh, and the other was Rohit Sharma. 

For Yuvraj, that star-making moment came against England. Taunted by the English fielders – especially Andrew Flintoff – Yuvraj responded with his bat. 

Stuart Broad was reduced to a helpless figure, bowling to a man who appeared possessed – and hell-bent on smacking every ball as hard as he could. 

It is worth noting that, at that point, Yuvraj was already an established player in the Indian team. But that moment led to him going from a good player to a great one. 

It established his ability to single-handedly win matches for India, whether with the bat or the ball. And it also showed that Yuvraj was what in modern terms would be referred to as a 'clutch player' – someone who shone brightest when the spotlight was on him. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Rohit was a relatively unknown entity at that point. Yet a crucial knock on his part against South Africa sealed India's spot in the semis – and knocked out the hosts. 

India was without Yuvraj for this game, which left the middle order weaker – they slipped to 33-3 before a whirlwind 85-run partnership between Rohit and skipper MS Dhoni salvaged the innings. 

Rohit was playing his first tournament match and batting at number 5 – a position that seems weird in hindsight. However, he showed no inhibition and played some crisp strokes en route to a 50. 

His knock propelled India to 153-5; a total India defended quickly. The match is more remembered for South Africa's epic choke; needing just 126 to make it to the semis, they only got 116-9 and were eliminated. 

But without Rohit, India would not have posted anything close to a competitive total. 154 doesn't seem like a steep chase, but the wicket in Durban offered bowlers some assistance, and thus the chase wasn't a cakewalk. 

India would eventually win the tournament, the IPL would get launched, and Rohit won five IPL titles – and eventually became India's all-format captain. 

Yuvraj, meanwhile, played a crucial part in India's ICC World Cup win in 2011 – despite dealing with a cancer diagnosis midway through the tournament. 

It's surreal to look back at now, but that one tournament gave India not only a potent match-winner but also a future captain and great opener.