5 best moments of Irfan Pathan's International career

3. Match-winning show in the World T20 final

MS Dhoni’s first assignment as a captain was the inaugural ICC World T20 and we all know how that panned out. In the final against Pakistan, both Yusuf and Irfan Pathan were roped into the XI and it was a big moment for their family. Batting first, India registered 157 runs banking on a breathtaking 75-run knock from Gautam Gambhir.

Imran Nazir’s blazing start put the opponents in the driver’s seat. But wickets kept tumbling at the other end and owing to an injury, Nazir too was dismissed and Pakistan were on the backfoot. But the big breakthroughs were provided by Irfan Pathan, who came up with a stupendous spell in the middle overs.

He picked up three huge wickets of Shoaib Malik, the in-form Shahid Afridi and Yasir Arafat as India narrowly won the game by 5 runs, he was adjudged the player of the match for his sensational figures of 3/16 in four overs. Irfan’s contribution to this flabbergasting encounter can never be summed up in a few paragraphs.