Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq opened up on the heartbreaking defeat to India in the T20 World Cup 2007 final in Johannesburg.
Recalling the game, the former right-handed batter said that Pakistan were confident of winning the final after restricting India to 157 in 20 overs.
“We were very confident because of the kind of pitch there was and the kind of (short) boundaries. It was very tough for India because they were dependent on their spin bowling,” he said during a recent interview.
“At the Wanderers Stadium, it’s very difficult for the spinners usually and their main bowler at that time was Harbhajan Singh. For an offspinner to bowl with short side boundaries there (was tough), and usually we play spin well,” Misbah-ul-Haq added.
However, all was not good as Pakistan lost two wickets in quick session and thing went from bad to worse with opening batter Imran Nazir’s run-out after smashing 33 off 14 balls.
“We thought that the target was not difficult to chase, we just need a good start. But I think losing quick wickets in 2-3 overs, the run-out of Imran Nazir, that basically put pressure on us,” the former captain said.
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While Misbah-ul-Haq played a fighting knock of 43 off 38, he failed to win the game for the Men in Green and was the last batter to be dismissed, handing a 5-run victory to India.
“At one point we were 77 for 6. So because of the fall of wickets, the target became difficult. I think things went bad for us due to overconfidence,” he concluded.
India went on the lift the trophy of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup while Pakistan won the title two years later in 2009.
It was after 17 years, India lifted the trophy for the second time in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024 after they beat South Africa in the final in Barbados on June 29.
