Mahendra Singh Dhoni is considered one of the finest cricket captains of all time. In his initial tenure as captain, he led India to an historic win at the first T20 World Cup. Later, he guided India to the ODI World Cup championship in 2011 and to victory at the Champions Trophy in 2013. Despite the T20 World Cup triumph, former Indian cricketer Rudra Pratap Singh, who was part of the winning team and participated in the final against Pakistan, made a surprising disclosure about a “miscalculation” made by Dhoni during the game.
In a bold decision, Indian captain Dhoni entrusted the final over of the match to Joginder Sharma, with Misbah-ul-Haq posing a threat for Pakistan. Joginder proved the captain’s trust correct, securing a five-run victory for India. RP Singh, who took three wickets in the game, disclosed that there was a dilemma between Harbahajan and Joginder and a miscalculation was made due to Harbahajan’s high figures.
According to RP Singh, who was commentating during the SA20 league, Dhoni had the notion that the 20th over was not as crucial as the 17th, 18th, and 19th. RP Singh noted that Misbah was playing exceptionally well that day, and Harbhajan typically bowled the 17th over, often providing a crucial breakthrough. However, on that day, Misbah was in top form, leading to a miscalculation in the strategy.
RP Singh added, “Harbhajan was unable to finish his overs. I had to bowl the 19th over, with Sreesanth preceding me. We had a choice between Harbhajan and Joginder. Misbah was batting well, and if it was a left-handed batter, Harbhajan would have bowled the final over. However, since it was a right-handed batter, Joginder was handed the ball.”
After opting to bat, Dhoni led India to a formidable score of 157/5 in 20 overs in Johannesburg, with Gautam Gambhir contributing a strong 75 runs. Despite Misbah-ul-Haq’s impressive 43 runs off 38 balls, his efforts were in vain as he attempted a scoop shot with Pakistan needing only six runs to win off four deliveries. Sreesanth, positioned at short-fine leg, made a simple catch to secure an Indian victory.
