'Mistimed the shot on which I had the most confidence'

Misbah on scoop in 2007 T20 WC final

MUSCAT: Fourteen years since India beat Pakistan by five runs to win the inaugural ICC Men's T20 World Cup in a dramatic finish at Johannesburg in South Africa, Misbah-ul-Haq has now admitted that he mistimed the scoop shot, a stroke in which he had the most confidence.

In a bid to get the glory shot, Misbah attempted to scoop Joginder Sharma on the third ball of the final over and was caught by S. Sreesanth at short fine-leg to give India a five-run win in the final.

"In 2007, I always say that throughout every game, I scored so many fours playing that shot. Even with the fine leg in place, I was taking singles while playing that shot against Australia. Against spinners, I used to beat fine-leg with that shot. So, you can say I got overconfident. I mistimed the shot on which I had the most confidence," Misbah said in an interaction with his former team-mates Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Yousuf on Youtube.

In his international career, Misbah, the former head coach of Pakistan, was almost the last man standing whenever the team faced India in the knockouts stage of a mega event. After the 2007 Men's T20 World Cup, he waged a lone battle for Pakistan in the 2011 Men's Cricket World Cup semi-finals at Mohali.

"In 2011, on that Mohali pitch, India had scored 44 (39/0) in 4 overs. When the ball got older, it started to reverse, it started gripping and runs were harder to get. Sachin scored 80-something (85) and he was the man of the match. India were struggling after that start," pointed out Misbah. IANS

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