Misbah-ul-haq :(

KARACHI: Misbah-ul-Haq, the Mianwali-born batsman, imbued with so many talents, had never been given the additional blessing of a killer punch.
Twice in the World Twenty20 he brought Pakistan agonisingly close to beating India and on both occasions he fell just short of delivering the shot that would have taken his team through.
The first time, it didn’t really matter as Pakistan easily moved into the Super Eights in spite of a defeat against India in a bowl-out. But the second time — in the grand finale at the Wanderers on Monday — his inability to finish off the match broke millions of hearts in Pakistan and across the world.
Once again, he brought Pakistan back in business with a gem of an innings and once again he threw it away. Pakistan just needed six runs from the final four deliveries of an over bowled by the inexperienced Joginder Sharma. Almost all of his more orthodox shots had gone out of the field but still Misbah opted to loft the ball over wicket-keeper MS Dhoni’s head and spooned it straight to S Sreesanth at fine leg. Game over.
Misbah is no villain but the 33-year-old blew away a perfect opportunity of becoming a national hero, somebody who could be compared to the great Javed Miandad or the vastly-accomplished Wasim Akram — two of the biggest stars of Pakistan’s triumphant 1992 World Cup campaign in Australia, two match winners!
Pakistan should have won the final. This should have been their day. Everything was going right for them. Even the fact that Dhoni won the toss, a run-chase wasn’t a bad idea on a batting paradise especially after the bowlers restricted India to 157-5. But the batsmen, who played surprisingly well during the best part of the tournament, were unable to shine when it mattered the most.
Mohammad Hafeez, easily one of the most experienced twenty20 all-rounders in Pakistan, threw away his wicket and helped India make the sort of start they wanted in the match’s second innings. Imran Nazir did his bit but experienced campaigners Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, the skipper, failed to play their roles. Both fell hitting rather careless shots and left Pakistan in deep trouble.
The worst came from Shahid Afridi, who had the dream opportunity of using his skills as a world famous pinch-hitter. He went for a first ball duck trying for a big one but only managing to hit it high and towards a fielder. Ironically, he was handed the player-of-the-tournament award, but for his performance as a bowler.
In the end, Team Pakistan once again showed that it still has a long way to go. After beating top class teams like Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand, one was expecting the Greenshirts to conquer India as well. But like Misbah, Team Pakistan also fell short just by five runs. What a heartbreak