ON THIS DAY
Follow UsBefore the England-New Zealand 2019 World Cup final went down right to the wire, no WC final had come as close as the India-Pakistan clash in the 2007 World T20 finale. The well-established cricketing rivalry found a thrilling new chapter on September 24, 2007, at Johannesburg, with India clinching the title with just three balls remaining.
With T20 still a new concept in the subcontinent and both India and Pakistan returning home to severe backlashes from the fans following a disastrous ODI World Cup campaign held in the same year, pundits didn’t deem them as 'serious' contenders for the inaugural T20 title.
However, both India and Pakistan had come to the tournament brimming with youngsters looking to test the waters more than anything. The better-suited T20 sides like Australia, South Africa and West Indies looked firm favourites on paper compared to a Joginder Sharma or a Misbah-ul-Haq, both of whom will play crucial roles for their respective teams in the finale.
India were undoubtedly high in confidence approaching the final. With Yuvraj Singh hitting six sixes against England before the Men in Blue battered title-favourites Australia in the semis, MS Dhoni and Co. were flying high.
Pakistan, on the other hand, were no minnows either. Since losing to India in a bowl-out in their group stage match, they had won four matches on the trot to reach the final. Shahid Afridi was in top form with 12 wickets to his name.
India was without premier opener Virender Sehwag for the summit clash as he was nursing a groin injury, with a certain Yusuf Pathan taking his place alongside Gautam Gambhir.
Dhoni had opted to bat first after winning the toss with a target of 180 in his mind, but Pakistan’s fierce bowling would limit India to a paltry total of 157. Barring Gambhir’s 75, no batsman could rise to the occasion, with Rohit Sharma’s quickfire 30 coming down the order, giving the Men in Blue a fighting chance.
Pakistan didn’t start strongly as well, with Irfan Pathan and RP Singh taking three-wicket hauls each. However, significant contributions from Imran Nazir (33) and Younis Khan (24) meant Pakistan kept the scorecard ticking despite losing wickets at regular intervals.
Misbah remained at the crease until the very end and, with late support from tailenders Yasir Araft (15) and Sohail Tanvir (12), took the match to the wire, with 13 runs needed off the last over.
"In the airrr... Sreesanth takes it. India wins!"
— Cricket.com (@weRcricket) September 24, 2023
This moment, this very moment. Time stopped! Misbah, his team, and the fans had eyes on the ball full of HOPE.
But hope couldn't translate into force which needed to help it cross the boundary rope.#OTD | #Cricket | #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/RoFnz2mafA
Dhoni’s three premier bowlers, Pathan, RP Singh and Sreesanth, were already done with their four-over quotas, and Dhoni was left with a choice to hand the final over to either veteran Harbhajan Singh or Joginder Sharma. However, Bhajji conceding 36 runs in three overs didn’t inspire much confidence, and Dhoni decided to hand the ball to the novice.
Fans on the ground didn’t like this decision and made their displeasure known with a groan as Sharma bowled his first delivery wide. If that wasn’t nervy enough, Misbah would hit a six on the third ball straight down the ground. With six runs needed off four balls and Misbah in supreme touch, the final was Pakistan’s to lose.
With Mohammad Asif at the non-striker’s end, Misbah had to finish the match himself, and he took a decision that cost Pakistan the title. Sharma’s next ball was full on the stumps and Misbah decided to scoop it over short fine-leg. Needless to say, he didn’t time it correctly, and it went straight up in the air before Sreesanth took one of the most important catches ever.
“The Indians bowled really well, and we played some bad shots. That's why we ended up on the losing side in this game,” said a visibly disappointed Shoaib Malik had said post-match.
While Misbah was largely criticised for this shot selection that evening, the batsman would still disagree even after all these years. He believes it was poor execution, not shot selection.
