India, Jan. 23 -- India went into the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, in South Africa in 2007, with no weight of expectations. A shattering first-round exit from its 50-over counterpart a few months previously in the Caribbean had prepared Indian fans for the worst. Senior batters Rahul Dravid, then the captain, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly decided to give the tournament a miss, and Dilip Vengsarkar's selection panel appointed Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the skipper in a left-field decision that was to alter the landscape of Indian cricket.

It was against this background that India embarked on their African safari. They had played just one international T20 previously, also in South Africa in December 2006, which meant their t...