One may not remember the scores, one may not remember the turning points in the game, but any Indian cricket follower will forever remember that error-filled scoop shot from Misbah-ul-Haq in the final over of the game that helped India beat Pakistan in the inaugural edition of the World T20 final.
In the third ball of the final over, Joginder Sharma went in with a slower delivery outside off stump and Misbah played an unnecessary scoop shot over the short fine leg as the ball landed comfortably in the hands of Sreesanth.
Recalling the historic World Cup win, veteran Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa revealed that he was praying when he saw Sreesanth waiting under the ball to catch it was he had seen him drop absolute sitters before.
“At the beginning of the over, I was at long-on. I remember Jogi bowling a wide on the first ball and I was like ‘man!’ I was praying. Every ball, from 15th over onwards, I was just praying ‘just get us through," Uthappa said.
“He bowled a wide first ball, and I was like ‘okay, let it not go for a six now’. Then he got hit for a six. And I was like, ‘come on, we can still do this’. Even in that situation, Pakistan had all the momentum going their way, I was backing our team,” Uthappa said.
“Misbah hit a scoop shot, and I saw it going pretty high. I noticed that it wasn’t going really far. Then I saw who the fielder at short fine-leg was, and I saw it was Sreesanth. By that point, within the team, he was known for dropping catches, especially the easiest ones. I have seen him drop absolute sitters."
“As soon as I saw Sreesanth, I started running towards the wickets, and I started praying ‘please god, let him hold on to this one’. If you look at him taking that catch, you can see that when the ball actually entered his hands, he is looking up there (laughs). So, I still truly believe it was nothing but destiny that won us that World Cup,” he added.
India defeated Pakistan by five runs in the final to win the inaugural World T20, under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
