Birthday special: Joginder Sharma – The man who bowled the golden over
Indian cricketer Joginder Sharma is currently serving as Deputy Superintendent of Police in the state of Haryana. Born on 23rd October 1983, Sharma kept making sporadic appearances for the Men in Blue. The right-arm pacer also plied his trade for the yellow army of Chennai Super Kings from the inaugural year 2008-2012. He could appear in only four ODIs and as many T20Is for India and took one and four wickets, respectively.
The Rohtak born found a place in the playing XI of the team during WT20 in 2007 in South Africa. He was in the team in a match against Australia, which was the semi-final event, and he was given the job to bowl the final over. The Kangaroos needed 22 runs for victory, and ace batsman Michael Hussey was on the crease. Sharma was in the mood of displaying some pure class as he conceded just seven runs in the last over and also dismissed two batsmen. As a result, India bagged the stylish victory by 15 runs.
The moment of fame for Joginder
However, he caught more limelight when he was again handed over the responsibility of bowling the last over in the final match against Pakistan. In the finals of 2007 WT20, Pakistan needed 13 runs with one wicket in hand to take home the precious title, and Misbah-ul-Haq was looking dangerous on the crease. Sharma came up with all the courage to place the first delivery, and it went wide. The hearts were pounding rapidly as he came up for the second ball, it was just borderline but was not called by the umpire.
The third delivery increased all the tension for Indian fans as it was smashed straight for a six by Misbah-ul-Haq. People were already on the edge of their seats as he took the run-up for his fourth one and placed it outside off stump. Misbah couldn’t time his scoop and the fine leg fielder Sreesanth was all set for his job and caught the ball to end the anxiety of Indian fans. India lifted the WT20 title in the inaugural edition itself, under the leadership of legendary skipper MS Dhoni.
This is how Joginder Sharma became a hero in no time and continued to be the talk of the town for a long time. After his classic contribution to India’s victory, the Haryana Government announced a Rs 21 Lakh cash prize for him. Though he never announced his official retirement, he was last seen in the international circuit in 2007. Also, he joined the Haryana Police same year in the month of October.
