Leads India to 2007 World T20 glory against Pakistan

India and Pakistan rivalry is something that sees both the players and fans from both sides raise their game to another level. And Irfan Pathan has always done extremely well against Pakistan whether in Tests, ODIs or T20Is.

He raised his game to the next level when India faced off against Pakistan in the final of the 2007 World T20 at the Wanderers’ Stadium in Johannesburg. India batted first and it was a huge occasion for Pathan family, as Irfan’s elder brother Yusuf made his India debut and opened the innings alongside Gautam Gambhir. The Men in Blue made 157/5 with Gambhir top-scoring with 75 and Rohit Sharma made 30.

Indian cricket fraternity pays tribute to Irfan Pathan as all-rounder retires from all cricket

In reply, RP Singh removed Mohammad Hafeez for 1 and Kamran Akmal for a duck. And then Irfan Pathan came into his own, dismantling the middle order of the Green Army. He removed captain Shoaib Malik for 8, the dangerous Shahid Afridi for a golden duck and accounted for Yasir Arafat, who was looking dangerous, for 11 runs.

We all know how Misbah-Ul-Haq threatened to take the game away from India in the last few overs until he played that false scoop shot against Joginder Sharma and India won the match and the title by 5 runs.

Irfan Pathan was named the Player of the Finals in what was truly a worthy performance.