On the fifth anniversary of Team India’s 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, S. Sreesanth, a key member of that squad, looks back at the team’s ascent to the summit.
The first thing that comes to my mind about the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 is that early game against Pakistan. I was bowling the last over and Pakistan needed just one run from two balls. At that moment I thought that if we can tie this game and then go on to win in the bowl-out we will win the trophy.
It was just a gut feeling and, god willing, I managed to bowl two dot balls, and then in the bowl-out we won. I guess, destiny was with us and after that match we kept progressing.
In the final, I didn’t do much but I had done well against Australia in the semifinal. In the final, I had just one wicket and during that last over bowled by Jogi (Joginder Sharma), we were all tense and praying.
When Misbah-ul-Haq played that scoop and I saw the ball going up my mind went blank. Actually, not many realised that I was positioned at short fine-leg and had to run backwards to catch the ball. As for moving backwards, it was just an impulsive decision. I did juggle with the ball a bit, but I managed to hold on to it, and I know all my team-mates were worried whether I would be able to do so. And then we were all ecstatic, and words can’t describe that feeling.
Sometime later, someone sent me a picture of me juggling with the ball and in his note he mentioned, “Your eyes were not on the ball!”
In the end, all I can say is that perhaps I was the chosen one. To be honest I wasn’t good at running backwards and taking catches in practice, but all credit goes to the then fielding coach Robin Singh Sir. He made us work hard and that paid off.
— As told to K.C. Vijaya Kumar
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