Top 3 moments from Irfan Pathan's international career

Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on the 4th of January as he brought his topsy-turvy career to an end.

After hogging the spotlight in the early part of the 2000s, the left-arm fast bowler fell off a cliff slightly towards the end of that decade as injuries and constant chopping and changing meant that he was isolated on the periphery more often.

Yet, despite not featuring for India quite as frequently over the past decade, the pacer enjoyed a few memorable moments in national colours, especially when he was firing on all cylinders.

In his pomp, Irfan was perhaps one of the best swing bowlers India had produced in recent memory, a fact emphasized by the sheer number of wickets he scalped in the formative stages of his international career.

However, rather unfortunately, that trend was nipped in a bud, although he did produce moments of pure genius when he was on song.

Thus, as a tribute to a briefly sparkling career, we would take a trip down memory lane and relive Irfan’s best moments in international cricket.

Also see – India vs Australia schedule

Without further ado, here is a look at them.

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#3 Man of the Match performance at Perth

Irfan was brilliant at Perth in 2008

Back in 2008, India were embroiled in a titanic Test tussle Down Under against Australia. The Men In Blue had lost the first couple of games and faced the daunting prospect of locking horns with the hosts at the WACA.

Unsurprisingly, not many touted the visitors to ruffle the Aussies’ feathers. However, they managed to do so and they did it with aplomb, meaning that they registered a historic triumph.

And, while the headlines were hogged by the more illustrious names, it was Irfan Pathan who quietly walked away with the Man of the Match prize.

The left-arm pacer acted as the perfect foil for the likes of Ishant Sharma and RP Singh, in the process, bagging 5 wickets across the Test. More importantly though, he popped up with crucial runs in both essays, thereby ensuring that India provided the requisite resistance to script a victory.

While in the first innings, the all-rounder scored a valuable 28, coming in at No.8, he bettered his tally in the second innings by notching up a vital 46, when sent in to bat at No.3.

Consequently, he scooped up the Man of the Match award as that Indian side etched its name into cricketing folklore.

#2 Hat-trick against Pakistan in 2006

Irfan bagged a hat-trick at Karachi in 2006 against Pakistan

In January 2006, India toured Pakistan for a Test series, wherein the 3rd game was slated to be played at Karachi. And, though the visitors lost the encounter by 341 runs, the contest was remembered as the match where Irfan Pathan signalled his resurgence on the international stage.

After a bright start to his career, the pacer had endured an enormous amount of injuries, meaning that he was still battling to regain the mojo that had taken the world by storm. At Karachi though, he provided a brief glimpse of the talent he possessed as he became only the 2nd Indian ever to script a Test hat-trick, after Harbhajan Singh.

The Indians won the toss and invited Pakistan to have first use of a lively wicket. And, the visitors struck almost instantly as Irfan sent Salman Butt packing on the 4th delivery of the innings. The next ball saw the pacer nip out Younis Khan whereas he completed his hat-trick by getting the prized scalp of Mohammad Yousuf.

Thus, despite a negative result in the Test, Irfan had managed to carve out a new piece of history on Pakistan’s home patch. And, while his career might always harbour a lingering feeling of what could’ve been, moments such as the one in Pakistan place him in a league of his own.

#1 The 2007 ICC World T20 final against Pakistan

Pathan (R) was named the Man of the Match in the 2007 ICC World T20 final

A decade and a bit ago, India calamitously exited the ICC Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean in the group stages, a result that had far-reaching consequences. Ironically, one of the short-term implications was that India fielded a second-string side, at least on paper, for the inaugural edition of the ICC World T20 the same year, a team that was to be led by MS Dhoni.

Contrary to expectations though, MS’ fearless warriors left each opponent in their wake en route an unprecedented appearance in the final. And, rather fittingly, the Men In Blue clashed swords with their arch-rivals Pakistan in an encounter that had the potential to define an entire generation of Indian cricketers.

India batted first and they put up a challenging total of 157 on the board, largely due to Gautam Gambhir’s brilliance at Johannesburg. However, Pakistan started off briskly by rattling past 50 in the PowerPlay, although they lost three wickets.

Thereafter, in the middle phases, Irfan began sprinkling his magic as he got rid of the likes of Shoaib Malik, Yasir Arafat and most importantly, Shahid Afridi.

In the process, it enabled India to edge past their eternal nemesis by the tiniest of margins, meaning that the country’s thirst for a global cricketing crown was finally quenched.

And, while most of the members of that side carved out an exceptional niche for themselves in Indian cricket, Irfan unfortunately succumbed to injuries. Yet, one can’t ignore the impact the pacer had on perhaps the nation’s biggest watershed moment in the 21st century.