The ICC World T20 2007 triumph will always remain special for the Indian cricket fans because of numerous great moments – from MS Dhoni’s maiden tournament as a captain to Yuvraj Singh’s iconic 6 sixes in an over against English paceman Stuart Broad. However, none was bigger than Joginder Sharma’s last over to Pakistan batsman Misbah-ul-Haq which sealed the deal for India.
With 12 needing from the last over, Misbah smashed Joginder straight down the ground for a gigantic six. Pakistan were on course for a historic win but the match had a final twist in the tale.
Joginder bowled a full delivery as Misbah bent down to scoop it behind the wicket over short fine-leg but couldn't get the desired connection. S Sreesanth, who was placed at fine leg, took the catch to secure the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 for India by five runs.
Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was part of the winning side, recently reflected on the thrilling victory.
"Obviously one of the best moments. That feeling of winning the World Cup, I didn't feel the same even when we won the ODI world Cup in 2011 because when we returned to India after the win, they say Mumbai doesn't stop for anyone but that day it stood still. Everyone was on the streets. It took us 5-6 hours to reach the Wankhede Stadium from the airport," Harbhajan told India Today.
When asked what if Sreesanth would have spilled Misbah’s catch, Harbhajan replied: "It's about luck, Misbah couldn't execute the shot properly and on that day Sreesanth executed his work properly. Normally he's not good with the execution. So what happened with Sreesanth after the World Cup in the IPL could have happened on that day only."
It is worth mentioning here that Harbhajan had landed himself into a huge controversy after he slapped Sreesanth after one of the matches in the Indian Premier League. The incident took place during a match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab back in 2008.
Misbah was also in the show with Harbhajan and the former spoke about his dismissal in detail.
"That's why they say a match is not over till the last ball is bowled. That's how cricket is, that you fail to execute your favourite shot. People say there was no pace but I was so confident that time that even I would have scooped a spinner for a six," Misbah quoted.
"It was one of my favourite shots and I had a lot of command on the shot. So I decided to hit a four and level things but in pressure situations sometimes you are not able to execute things properly. And it's part of the game," he explained.
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan are slotted in Group A in the ongoing Asia Cup alongside Hong Kong. The high-octane encounter between the two arch-rivals will take place in Dubai on September 19.
