Former Pakistan captain Shoiab Malik said in the 2007 India-Pakistan World T20 final, MS Dhoni’s senior bowlers refused to bowl the final over to Misbah-ul-Haq.
“I will not take names. Each of India’s main bowlers had one over left. Dhoni asked everyone, but they refused to bowl the last over. They were afraid to bowl to Misbah. He was hitting all over the ground,” Malik told A Sports.
“People always talk about that scoop shot by Misbah. I am telling you, If it was not the last wicket, he must have hit him down the ground. He had already hit Joginder for a big six in that over,” he added.
Misbah explained the reason behind playing that scoop shot against Joginder Sharma in the last over.
“That was the shot I was playing throughout the tournament. The plan was to get a boundary and then we will need one run to level the score; they will bring the field up and then I will finish the match,” recollected Misbah.
With four needed of the six balls, Misbah went for a scoop shot over short fine-leg, it went straight up in the air, Sreesanth took the catch, and India won the inaugural T20 World Cup.
Malik also recalled why he still got emotional while talking about 2007 final.
“I am not an emotional guy, but the final loss got the better of me. We were a step ahead from the rest of the teams. We dominated the 2007 World Cup team. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win the final,” he said.
