"Pakistan had no clue, they didn't read playing conditions" - Robin Uthappa makes stunning revelation about famous bowl-out in 2007 T20 World Cup
Former India batter Robin Uthappa has revealed that Pakistan had no clue about the bowl-out in the 2007 T20 World Cup group match in Durban after the game ended in a tie. He recalled that Pakistan had not read the playing conditions, while India had and had even practiced hitting the stumps to prepare for a bowl-out.
The India vs Pakistan 2007 T20 World Cup group match in Durban ended in a thrilling tie. There was no Super Over those days, and the playing conditions for the tournament stated that there would be a bowl-out in case of a tie. A well-prepared India went on to beat Pakistan 3-0 in the bowl-out.
During his appearance on the Cyrus Says podcast, Uthappa recalled the bowl-out, which included the iconic moment of him taking off his cap and bowing to the crowd after hitting the stumps. He said:
"We practiced it quite a bit. That's why we were really excited after the game got tied because we knew exactly what's going to happen. Pakistan had no freaking clue. They were also really happy - match tied, we didn't lose to India in a World Cup. But we knew that there was a bowl-out happening. They didn't know. And suddenly you see them huddling together.
"You give the Pakistanis time to think, and then they implode. They didn't read the playing conditions, which is what we did. We had two south Indians in the side. We had Robin Singh and we have Venkatesh Prasad, who read the playing conditions and they said let's practice this because if this happens, we need to be semi-prepared for it.
The 39-year-old added:
"So we'd finish the warm-up games and have a bowl-out. In the bowl-outs, the guys who hit it (the stumps) most were Viru bhai (Virender Sehwag), Rohit (Sharma) and me."
Apart from Uthappa, Harbhajan Singh and Sehwag hit the stumps during their respective turns in the bowl-out. For Pakistan, Yasir Arafat, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi all missed their targets.
Robin Uthappa top-scored for India in the group match against Pakistan
Before playing his part in the bowl-out, Uthappa top-scored for Team India, scoring 50 off 39 balls, a knock which featured four fours and two sixes. Batting first, the Men in Blue put up 141-9 on the board even as Mohammad Asif claimed 4-18.
In the chase, Misbah-ul-Haq's 53 off 35 dragged Pakistan to 141-7. He was run-out off the last ball, taking the match to a bowl-out. Team India also went to beat Pakistan by five runs in the final of the 2007 T20 World Cup in Johannesburg.