16 Facts about Joginder Sharma - India’s glory man

When an over eclipses a career you know we are discussing something far from common. Joginder Sharma has immortalized himself with the last over of the final of the ICC World T20 2007. Who can ever forget that moment? India were coming off a disastrous 2007 ODI World Cup in the West Indies and nobody really gave them a chance going into the competition.

And all the adulation India got after the victory might well have turned into harsh criticism had Joginder not outfoxed Misbah in the last over of the final in Johannesburg. It is pretty hard to construct that the IPL would be born in the first place, let alone the the subsequent T20 boom in the country if not for that victory. Let us focus on the man who was centrally responsible for all that.

1. Birth:

Joginder Sharma was born on 23 October 1983, Rohtak, Haryana.

2. The attributes:

He can give the ball a mighty thwack and has the surprise factor with his nippy medium pace.

3. Fantastic FC debut:

Sharma made his First Class debut for Haryana against Madhya Pradesh in the 2002/03 Ranji Trophy, hitting 81 before taking 11/84 to lead Haryana to a 103 run victory.

4. Two great seasons:

Sharma finished his debut season (2002-03) with 24 wickets at 17.41 and scored 280 runs at 46.66. He followed this with 148 runs at 68.51 and 23 wickets at 23.39 in 2003/04 Ranji season.

5. Duleep Trophy title:

He was selected for the North Zone team for the Duleep Trophy, and took 6/59 in a match against West Zone during the victorious campaign.

6. Grabs eyeballs:

Sharma gained national attention in a match for India A against the national team at Bangalore, when he dismissed Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh. He also played for the Rest of India side, which defeated Mumbai in the Irani Trophy.

7. The road to national colors:

Having scored two successive centuries, and securing a 14/116 in the 2004/05 Ranji Trophy against Vidarbha, Sharma won his place in the Indian side for the Bangladesh tour.

8. International debut:

He made his debut at Chittagong in 2004 in a three-match ODI series along with MS Dhoni.

9. A memorable Ranji season:

Joginder had an outstanding season in 2006-07, when he scored 603 runs at an average of 37.68 with 2 hundreds and picked up 45 wickets at 19.24 with 2 five-fors and 2 ten-fors. The finest of these performances came at his hometown, where he bowled unchanged to skittle Uttar Pradesh for 71 and return with figures of 7 for 28.

10. Try believing:

He has not played another game for India since that memorable final over performance in 2007 World T20.

11. Surviving a scare:

In November 2011, he met with a career-threatening car accident, where he suffered severe head injuries. However, Sharma recovered well and returned to the 2012-13 domestic season.

12. IPL:

He started off as a regular in the Chennai Super Kings line up but wasn’t able to keep his place for a consistent duration. He stayed with the franchise until 2011.

13. Temperament at display:

Mumbai Indians needed 19 off the last over in one of the IPL games as Dhoni tossed the ball to Joginder. He once gain held his nerves as an ominous looking Abhishek Nayar failed to take Mumabi home.

14. Perhaps true:

If Joginder Sharma was 5k quicker, Misbah's shot may well have sailed over Sreesanth……..

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 24, 2015

15. Vital member of Haryana:

Though the chances of a comeback into the national side look bleak for Sharma at the moment, he continues to be an integral part of Haryana’s setup in the domestic circuit.

After playing for the CSK in the Indian Premier Leauge for two seasons, Sharma opted to retire from FC cricket as he was given a job with the Haryana Police.

16. First Class numbers:

In 73 First Class matches he has scored 2689 runs at an average of 24.89 and has also picked up 289 wickets at 21.14.