As cricket’s shortest format continues to gain traction and the T20 World Cup 2024 is right around the corner, a veteran who shook the hearts of Indian cricket fans in the finals of the inaugural edition, Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq reflected on that historic game and believes that the 2007 tournament set the platform for the 20-over format to flourish.
The former Pakistan international had played a massive role in taking his side to the finals and went on to lead the nation across all formats. In the finals in Johannesburg, he went on to score 43 in 38 balls and stuck till the very end but ultimately fell short as he was dismissed with a scoop shot which flew up in the air but was caught by S Sreesanth to help India secure the maiden T20 World Cup title.
Reflecting on his time in the 2007 World Cup, the former Pakistan skipper suggested that having the greatest rivalry in cricket, India vs Pakistan helped elevate the format to what it is now.
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“In the 2007 T20 World Cup, all teams were not so serious. India handed the captaincy to a young Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But the final between India and Pakistan, the greatest rivalry in the history of cricket. The hype that T20 got after that World Cup is immense,” said the 49-year-old on ‘Star Sports Press Room’ on Wednesday.
“The way T20 cricket flourished, I feel whatever we achieved and the current players are now plying their trade in different leagues and IPL is something great,” he added.
READ MORE: ‘They’ll Need to Do a Lot…’: Misbah-ul-Haq Says Pakistan has Mental Block While Playing India in World Cups
With yet another T20WC coming up, Rohit Sharma’s men will look to put their woes from the loss against Australia in the ODI World Cup 2023 behind them and continue going with a similar dominance they had displayed earlier under the leadership of Rohit Sharma which enamoured the many cricket fans in the country.
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The Men in Blue will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5 as part of their group-stage fixtures. They will also have Pakistan in their group and the two rivals will go up against each other on June 9 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York.
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