Australia needed 30 runs in three overs, I told Dhoni to give me the ball – Harbhajan Singh recalls semifinal of 2007 T20 World Cup

Indian former veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh recalled when he bowled a match-turning over in the semifinal of the 2007 T20 World Cup against the Aussies. Australia needed 30 runs in the last three overs of the crucial match and still had six wickets in hand.

The experienced duo of Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey were batting when the Turbanator asked Dhoni to give him the ball. Harbhajan got the big wicket of Michael Clarke with a fine yorker and conceded only three runs in the 18th over to get India back into the contest. Singh conceded only 24 runs in his quota of four overs and played a key role in India’s 15-run win.

“I told Dhoni ‘give me the ball’. Australia still needed 30 runs in 3 overs. I bowled that over and got Michael Clarke out and helped us,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.

“It did not feel to us that MS Dhoni was our skipper till he lifted the trophy. It was so because everyone was contributing their suggestions as to what should be done during a certain stage in a game. He was very open to it and would let us go ahead with whatever we thought was best,” added Harbhajan.

Harbhajan also recalled the bowl-out against Pakistan in the group stage clash. India won by 3-0 after Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa and Virender Sehwag were able to hit their targets while Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, and Umar Gul missed for Pakistan. Singh revealed why the idea to pick slower bowlers to hit the stumps was backed by MS Dhoni.

“The run-ups of players involved in bowl-out were of three to four steps. It was so because they could have lost their balance after running from a great distance,” he said.

On the other hand, Dinesh Karthik said that MS Dhoni had his own way of doing things and kept his composure to get the best out of his players.

“He was en route of becoming captain back then. He was the Vice Captain during the 2007 ODI World Cup and series against England and various other places. From day 1, he had his own ways of doing things. There was not really much difference between him as a captain and as a player,” said Karthik.

Dhoni was able to lead India to glory in the 2007 T20 World Cup after India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by five runs in the final.