OTD | Sreesanth took Misbah-ul-Haq’s catch to take India over the line in inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 

24th September 2007 will be a special day for Team India as they won the first ever T20 World Cup. India and Pakistan played in the final in front of a packed house in Johannesburg. In the end, the match turned out to be an all-time classic as MS Dhoni and his side won the game by 5 runs. 

MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat first and there was a surprise in store. Virender Sehwag missed out on the game and Yusuf Pathan made his debut. Yusuf, older brother of Irfan Pathan served notice to Pakistan with a straight six over Mohammad Asif’s head. The right-handed batter scored 15 runs while Robin Uthappa fell for 8. 

Gautam Gambhir then took charge as he scored 75 runs with the bat off 54 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes. One of his sixes hit the scoreboard of the Johannesburg stadium. Young Rohit Sharma gave the finishing touches as he stayed not out on 30 off 16 balls with 2 fours and a six. India ended their innings on 157/5 which may have seemed below par during the game. 

Sreesanth keeps his cool to help India win the title

In reply, Pakistan lost Mohammad Hafeez (1) and Kamran Akmal (0) early. Imran Nazir though took the attack to the Indian bowlers to score 33 off 14 balls. The Pakistani opener was run out by Robin Uthappa in the 6th over. Younus Khan, Shoaib Malik, and Shahid Afridi fell soon after to give India the upper hand. 

Misbah Ul Haq though kept fighting as he took his team closer to the target. The Indian bowlers did well to pick wickets at the other end but Misbah was still going strong. The final over saw Joginder Singh bowl to the Pakistani star as he had to defend 13 runs. 

The first ball went for a wide, followed by a huge dot ball. The second legal ball was sent for a huge six as Pakistan just half a dozen runs with four balls left to play. Joginder Sharma ran in to bowl the 3rd ball which Misbah tried to scoop over the fine leg. 

The Pakistani batter didn’t get the timing right as the ball stayed in the air for a long time. Sreesanth settled under the ball as the collective breaths of a billion Indian fans stopped. The pacer though kept his composure as he took the catch to help India win their first ICC title for 24 years. 

Ravi Shastri’s immortal words “In the air Sreesanth takes it, India wins and unbelieve scenes here in the bullring” still ring like an anthem to this day. Misbah for his part was crestfallen as he slumped to the pitch as the Indian team celebrated around him after creating history. 

Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions.

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