"Pressure was huge, I was left with no energy": Irfan on match-winning spell in ICC T20 WC 2007 final

Mumbai: Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said on Saturday that his spell during the final of ICC T20 World Cup 2007 final against Pakistan left him with no energy and he had never felt that much tiredness in his entire career.
On the fifteenth anniversary of Team India's ICC T20 World Cup 2007 triumph, members of the World Cup winning squad shared their thoughts and emotions during the high-profile final on the Star Sports programme 'Class of 2007: The Reunion of '07 Champions'. Irfan Pathan was crowned as 'Man of the Match' for his brilliant spell with the ball.
"There was no social media back then. But everyone was talking about how big this final against Pakistan was going to be. We were clashing in such a big final for the first time. The pressure was really massive. I was extremely tired after delivering my four overs in the final. I was never this tired throughout my whole career. It left me with no energy," said Pathan.
Even pacer RP Singh, one of the stars of the 2007 final, agreed with Pathan and added that the team followed whatever they had been following throughout the world cup.
Pathan also recalled that when his brother Yusuf was called to play in the final, the latter was experiencing some issues with his leg. For this, he made Yusuf do some stretching at the hotel.
Recalling Yusuf's six on his debut, Irfan said, "I was really happy when he hit that six. I felt as if I hit it."
Former India batter Gautam Gambhir, a star of the final, said that batting with then-newcomer Yusuf increased his responsibility.
"Batting with Yusuf increased my responsibility. It was a different combination. I was opening with Virender Sehwag previously. I had the responsibility as an anchor. I could not play fast as we were losing wickets," said Gambhir.
Even pacer RP Singh, one of the stars of the 2007 final, agreed with Pathan and added that the team followed whatever they had been following throughout the world cup.
On Rohit Sharma's hard-hitting 30*off 16 balls in the end, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that his knock was extremely critical and helped it cross the 150-run mark.
"Rohit's knock was important. We were at 130 in 18 overs, which is not really good. But those 27 runs he got us in the final two overs gave us 157 runs on the board. This knock was critical and made a difference during a chase of 158 runs back then," said Karthik.
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh recalled being hit for three sixes by Misbah-Ul-Haq in 17th over and said that he felt at that moment that momentum had shifted to Pakistan.
"I thought that momentum had shifted to Pakistan then. Then, Sreesanth was also hit for two sixes by Sohail Tanvir. We felt the pressure and thought that the game was out of our hands. It was not really in our hands to begin with since we had not put up much runs on the board," said the spin great.
On Sreesanth's catch that won India the World Cup, Gautam Gambhir recalled being at deep-midwicket and feeling pressure himself.
"Sreesanth did not catch a ball, he caught a World Cup," added Irfan.
On this day in 2007, India captured the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup, defeating Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling final at Johannesburg.
Both the teams had a great run in the tournament heading into the final and topped their respective groups. India was coming into the summit clash after downing the mighty Australians in the semi-final by 15 runs. On the other hand, Pakistan had defeated New Zealand in the semis by six wickets.
India elected to bat first after winning the toss. They put up 157/5 in their 20 overs. Gautam Gambhir's 75 off 54 balls and Rohit Sharma's hard-hitting cameo of 30* off 16 balls helped Men in Blue reach a solid score for an ICC final for those days. Pacer Umar Gul (3/26) did not let Team India reach a big score and took wickets at crucial phases.
Chasing 158, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. RP Singh (3/26) and Irfan (3/16) kept their arch-rivals run flow in check. Knocks from Imran Nazir (33), Younis Khan (24) were solid, but Pakistan was left struggling at 6/77. Misbah-ul-Haq (43) then tried to win it for Pakistan, but fell short by five runs after a scoop attempt on delivery by Joginder Sharma (2/20) was caught by S Sreesanth, sending millions into ecstasy. Pakistan was bundled out for 152 runs.
Since then, India has not captured another T20 World Cup. Their best performances since then remain runner-up finish in the 2014 edition and semifinal finish in the 2016 edition of the tournament. (ANI)