'Chalo, ho gaya mera': Harbhajan Singh recalls moment when Misbah-ul-Haq smoked three sixes in 2007 WT20 final

Even though Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh played an instrumental role in India's maiden ICC World T20 triumph in 2007, the spin wizard had a nightmarish outing with the leather against arch-rivals Pakistan in the summit clash. India's historic win over Pakistan in the final of the 2007 ICC World T20 is a memory that still remains fresh in everyone's minds.

Pakistan star batsman Misbah-ul-Haq had gone for an audacious scoop in the final over but his attempt backfired as S Sreesanth completed a simple catch at short fine-leg to kickstart the celebrations at the Indian dugout. 

Misbah's poor shot selection in the final over paved way for India to register a magnificent win over the Green Army by 5 runs at the grandest stages of them all. The Pakistan middle-order batsman had single-handedly revived Pakistan's chances of lifting the famous trophy at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. A little before that final over, Misbah had smoked three massive sixes off Harbhajan's 17th over. 

'I wanted to just finish that over' 

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo’s The Cricket Monthly in an interview, Harbhajan recalled the heavy bashing where he conceded three maximums at the hands of Misbah in the 2007 final against Pakistan. “Because after I was hit for a six, the pressure kept increasing. Rather than thinking what to do next, I was rushing through my deliveries. I wanted to just finish that over and feel, Chalo, ho gaya mera [I’ve finished my job],” Harbhajan said. 

“Take that over where Misbah went after me. Okay, anybody can be hit for a six or two sixes or three sixes, but was my process correct? Many times we [bowlers] are ourselves so scared about being hit, we send the batsman the message that we are on the back foot,” he added. 

Widely regarded as one of the off-best spinners across all formats, Harbhajan said that he was keen on bowling quicker-ones and yorkers which had worked wonders for him in the semi-final stage against Australia. Harbhajan had registered economical figures of one for 24 in four overs against the Aussies which cemented his place in the final against Pakistan.   

'Against Pakistan, maybe I was rushing'

“So against Misbah I just wanted to bowl the quicker delivery and the yorker. Because in the semi-final, against Australia, I bowled six yorkers and it worked. Maybe there I was taking a bit longer, I was more focused, more composed, and able to stick to my plan,” he said.  

Harbhajan conceded 19 runs in his 17th over where Misbah smashed three sixes to unnerve the Indian spinner. The veteran spinner didn't even manage to complete his four-over quota after going for plenty in the death overs. Harbhajan bowled three overs and leaked 36 runs against Pakistan in the final. 

“Against Pakistan, maybe I was rushing. I was not soaking up the pressure. When you are in a rush, you are not settled. Your feet are not working properly. Or your hands do not coordinate smoothly in your bowling action. Your front hand falls down quickly, or your bowling hand comes late, sometimes the ball does not spin, and what you want does not happen,” he added.