Misbah-ul-Haq opens up on his fateful scoop shot played in the final of the 2007 World T20

Misbah-ul-Haq has well and truly secured his legacy with his services to Pakistan cricket over the years but in addition to his many knocks that remained etched in the memories of the cricket fans, the fateful scoop shot he attempted in the final of the 2007 World T20 only to end up in the hands of S Sreesanth thus giving arch-rivals India the maiden World T20 trophy is one which will forever be associated with the Pakistan Test skipper.

The image of an absolutely devastated Misbah left on his knees while his Indian counterpart MS Dhoni celebrated ecstatically has gone on to become one of the most iconic ones in cricket history and Misbah has finally revealed the thoughts that were going through his mind during that final over.

Requiring 13 runs to win off the final over bowled by Joginder Sharma, Misbah hit a huge six and along with a wide, the equation boiled down to 6 runs required off 4 balls. Pakistan were very much the favourites but to everyone’s surprise, Misbah opted for a scoop shot that went only as far as the short fine leg fielder.

While many have criticised him over the years for opting an audacious shot at such a crucial juncture, Misbah himself believes that it was just wrong execution on his part that the shot that had fetched him success went awry for once.

“I think it is that kind of shot which I used to play mostly during my tape ball days. That used to be my pet shot,” Misbah said. “The moment I knew that there is nothing I can do, I used to go for that shot and never missed. During the World T20, I don’t know how many boundaries I scored with that execution and before that as well.

“It was like, whenever I was in such situation of the last wicket with five runs needed, I always thought of going to level the score with a boundary first.

“Sometimes your execution can go wrong and at times your strength becomes your weakness. You know that when you play such ramp shot, one has to pick the delivery as early so that it goes far. I did totally opposite of that as I played that very close to the body and the ball went up in the air. There was enough amount of time for a fielder to get under it and grab the catch.”

As for his exact thoughts before the third delivery, Misbah revealed that he was planning to glide the shot above the wicketkeeper’s head as there was very little areas available to score considering the low pace the bowler was generating.

“Dhoni was standing very close to me and my plan was to hit that ball above the keeper. There was not much pace and I knew that. I knew that If I go for a straight shot then there was a chance of miss hit and most of the fielders were up with extra cover as well because Joginder Sharma didn’t have much pace and I anticipated him to bowl a bit fuller length," Misbah said.

In hindsight, Misbah admits that he could have opted for some other shot but he added that he was not someone who believed in looking at the past and considering his incredible success since the words do prove substance.

“Yes there was regret, but I think very soon I wiped it from my mind by thinking that it’s a past now and in order to move forward, I have to stop thinking about it,” he said.