Published 17:02 IST, July 13th 2020
Harbhajan Singh names best-ever World Cup final seen & it's NOT the 2007 WT20 or 2011 WC
Harbhajan Singh, who was part of the triumphant squads in the 2007 & 2011 World Cup editions under MS Dhoni, named the best final in the history of cricket.
Harbhajan Singh has been one of India's finest off-spinners who has won many matches for India and has also been a part of many famous wins. The off-spinner has 417 Test wickets and 269 ODI wickets to his name. In his illustrious cricketing career, he has represented India in 4 World Cups and has been a part of the triumphant squad in the 2007 & 2011 editions under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.
Harbhajan Singh names World Cup 2019 final as the best final ever
However, despite being a two-time World Cup winner for India, Harbhajan Singh has named the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 final between England and New Zealand presumably as the best ever final he has ever seen. On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took to Twitter to remember the eve of the one-year anniversary of the thrilling World Cup 2019 final. Harbhajan Singh retweeted ICC's tweet and called it was the best final ever.
The claim comes as a surprise from Harbhajan since he was part of 2 World Cup finals for India, having the best seat in the house to watch the match, which was either on the field playing it himself or in the dressing room. Both the finals proved to be thrillers with fine performances from India in both of them under MS Dhoni's leadership, with Gautam Gambhir contributing in both the finals with the highest score amongst Indian batsmen.
On July 14, 2019, almost one year ago, England were crowned world champions despite having tied the Super Over against New Zealand in a nail-biting World Cup 2019 final at Lord's. That was the first time a Super Over was used in a 50-over World Cup final. Chasing 16 in the Super Over, New Zealand managed 15 but England won because they scored more boundaries in the match and in the Super Over.
After the game ended in a tie, England sent in Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler against Trent Boult in the Super Over. Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler managed to score 15 runs. Jofra Archer was England's bowler for the Super Over who did an exceptional job. Jofra Archer restricted the Kiwis to 15 to trigger massive celebrations in the stadium and all around the United Kingdom.
There was a lot of chatter and controversy around the boundaries rule which helped England edge past New Zealand in the World Cup 2019 final because New Zealand played equally well and deserved the trophy. The World Cup 2019 final has gone down as one of the most memorable matches in ODI history and added another chapter to the fierce rivalry between the two nations.
Harbhajan Singh says MS Dhoni was a very shy guy initially who preferred to be on his own
While speaking to sports producer Rupha Ramani during an Instagram live session for Chennai Super Kings, Harbhajan Singh said that MS Dhoni didn't talk much or hang out with the rest of his teammates on overseas tours. The spinner claimed that Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and himself used to spend time together during overseas tours as they played a lot of cricket with each other.
The veteran spinner added that after the 2008 series happened, the Test match in Sydney got everyone together in the Indian team. Harbhajan Singh believed that from that time onwards, MS Dhoni started opening up a bit and started sitting with them.
Harbhajan Singh also claimed that MS Dhoni continues to be someone introverted and shy till date despite becoming the captain of the side. However, he opined that it allowed MS Dhoni to give his bowlers more freedom and space on the field to be their own person, though he was present always for support. Hence, CSK and India's success under MS Dhoni doesn't come as a surprise to Harbhajan Singh, who believes that it is a great lesson for aspiring leaders.
IMAGE COURTESY: HARBHAJAN SINGH INSTAGRAM
Updated 17:02 IST, July 13th 2020