Pakistan’s defeat against India in 2007 T20 World Cup Final changed our batting style: Misbah ul Haq

The former Pakistani skipper, now retired, revealed how things changed since the historic match. Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram asked Misbah a “million-dollar question” why no Pakistani batter ever played any sweep shot or a reverse lap. In reply, Misbah said that things had changed since the 2007 final against India.

The 2007 T20 World Cup Final remains a sweet memory for Indians as India became world champions. But, it never looked like it. Pakistan was chasing a meagre 157 while Misbah was in top form. In an earlier discussion, Harbhajan Singh reminded people that the Pakistani batter had hit him for three sixes in the 17th over. And, it seemed like Pakistan was breezing through the match to claim the trophy.

Also Read: What do Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam talk about when they meet?

As Misbah told Akram, nobody remembers now how much he scored in that tournament. Everybody remembers only that moment when he played a scoop shot, the ball went to Sreesanth who had earlier been thrashed badly by Pakistani batters. Sreesanth gave 44 runs in four overs. While it was a pretty easy catch, Harbhajan said everything was possible as it was Sreesanth – hinting at the latter’s unpredictability.

However, Sreesanth did grab the catch even though, as per Misbah, it never looked like he would. And, all people remember that – because of one unorthodox shot by Misbah – Pakistan lost the match by just five runs and – as a result – lost the trophy. He told Akram that Pakistani batters had stopped playing unconventional shots after that.

Also Read: ‘Billion-dollar side’ India now respects Pakistan as Babar Azam’s boys have proved their mettle: Ramiz Raja

“Other batters thought they would not play such shots as people left no stone unturned to slam Misbah for that shot,” Misbah said.

“I never missed that shot in my entire life. If I played straight, there were players as well,” he added while saying that his execution went horribly wrong.