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.
Recently, former Pakistan opener Imran Nazir revisited that T20 World Cup final in Johannesburg and said the loss will continue to hurt till his last breath.
“Cricket wise it will remain the biggest regret of my life. It will continue to hurt till my last breath. We had a chance to create history,” he said in a Youtube show called Cricket Baaz With Waheed Khan.
Nazir, who scored 33 off 14 balls in the final before being run out by Robin Uthappa, further said he should have single-handedly finished off that game after getting off to a flying start.
“From a personal point of view, I can say, I should’ve won that match single-handedly for Pakistan like I had done in ISL because when a player starts middling the ball he has the confidence,” he stated.
“I was playing really well then, unfortunately, got run out and the match slowly slipped away, it still hurts,” the 38-year-old recalled.
Imran Nazir said playing the final in front of a capacity crowd will continue to be one of the highlights of his career.
“To reach the finals of the first-ever T20 World Cup and then the kind of crowd and atmosphere was there in the finals, these sort of things stay with you always. I knew whoever performs well that day will win. A good professional is someone who performs out of his skin for his country on such a big occasion.
“I had given a good start, had built a solid partnership but what matters, in the end, is how you finish, which we couldn’t. So all of this is part and parcel of the game. It was a great tournament,” he remarked.
