Misbah forgot that in every corner of the world there is a Malayali: S Sreesanth recalls World T20 win
Indian cricket team pacer S Sreesanth on Friday walked down the memory lane to recall India's 2007 World T20 title triumph.
In an exclusive chat with Afreen Khan on Sportskeeda's Instagram handle, S Sreesanth spoke about how the team's faith in MS Dhoni and Joginder Sharma is one of his best memories from that match.
"I was sure we would win. When Joginder (Sharma) bowled, people doubted him but he was a match-winner back then. We had trust in MS Dhoni. I luckily caught the ball and later I got a message that read 'Misbah forgot that in every corner of the world there is a Malyali'," S Sreesanth said.
India's journey at the inaugural T20 World Cup was nothing short of a fairytale run under a young captain in MS Dhoni. S Sreesanth opened the bowling for the Indian cricket team in the competition, and one of the pacer's best performances came in the semifinal against Australia.
With a fiery mix of swing and pace, S Sreesanth was India's best bowler in the game and picked crucial wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, finishing with figures of 2/12 from four overs, including a maiden over.
In the summit clash against Pakistan, India put up 157-5 from 20 overs, and despite some early wickets during the chase, Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq managed to drag the match all the way till the final over.
"Not sure what Misbah was thinking" - S Sreesanth
With 13 runs to get from six balls, Misbah smashed a six off the second legal ball of the over and brought the equation to six runs from four balls. On the third ball, Misbah attempted a scoop shot over the short fine-leg fielder, but the ball went straight up in the air and S Sreesanth managed to hold onto the catch that brought about a famous win for India.
The Kerala-based pacer elucidated on how he battled some nervy moments to pouch the catch and win the World Cup for India.
"I was telling myself that if we lose, we wouldn't be able to go back to India. I was thinking more about stopping the batsmen from taking two since it was the last wicket, and I wanted to effect a run out if they were attempting two. But at that time I don't know what Misbah was thinking, it was our day and our time. When the ball was up in the air I didn't have much time to think, my mind was blank, it's when I saw the ball in my hand that I realised, I had won the World Cup for the team," S Sreesanth added.