“India’s Unsung Hero” – Fans Recall The 2011 World Cup Semi-final Match Against Pakistan As Munaf Patel Turns 39 Today
India vs Pakistan, 2011 WC Semi-final (Image Source; Twitter)
12 July is the day when former Indian pacer Munaf Patel celebrates his birthday every year. Fans also came up with some good birthday wishes for the player on their Twitter account. Many of them also shared the famous 2011 World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan where he played brilliantly to ensure the victory for his country.
Munaf Patel was part of that World Cup victory journey as he ended the tournament with 11 wickets to his name in eight games. He was also the third-highest wicket-taker in that tournament for India. During the semi-final match against Pakistan in that World Cup, Munaf had a good game as he picked up two wickets by conceding 40 runs in his ten overs. This pacer played for India across all three formats as he represented his country 86 times.
During all those matches, he grabbed 125 wickets at an overall economy of 4.12. Speaking about that 2011 World Cup semi-final, India batted first as they posted a target of 261 runs for their arch-rivals Pakistan. Former India batter Sachin Tendulkar was the highest scorer for India with 85 runs off 115 balls. In reply, Pakistan started well but at the middle stage of their innings, they lost track as they got bundled out for 231 runs. Munaf Patel was one of the picks of the bowlers from India for his spell of 40 runs in 10 overs by taking two wickets.
He also picked up four wickets in the first match of that tournament against Bangladesh. His figure was 10-0-48-4. India was also in a spot of bother when they were struggling to control England from chasing the target of 339 runs in a group stage match. But, it was Munaf Patel who defended only two runs from one ball in that match as the match eventually ended as a tie. After that victorious World Cup campaign, India’s bowling coach of that time, Eric Simmons also heaped high praises for this bowler by quoting him as an “Unsung Hero” of that World Cup journey.
Here is how fans have shared their wishes on Twitter for Munaf Patel:
https://twitter.com/IamNadev/status/1546740149194657792
https://twitter.com/indian_deaf/status/1546716091073736704
https://twitter.com/RSWorldSeries/status/1546780970338369536
https://twitter.com/viper_vikky/status/1546712502347505664
Happy Birthday Munaf Patel pic.twitter.com/iDdV0OP5HC
— ° (@anubhav__tweets) July 12, 2022
Happy Birthday Munaf Patel Owner of Baby All Rounder Abdul Mazzaq https://t.co/Cxqzi2RSnf pic.twitter.com/6IMuL8t3qB
— Prathamesh141 (@prathamesh18451) July 12, 2022
13 Tests, 70 ODIs, 3 T20Is
125 International Wickets
2011 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup championHappy birthday Munaf Patel.
His ball to Abdul Razzaq in the World Cup Semi-final (2011) was one of the best ball bowled in that World Cup. pic.twitter.com/HImBZ7I8SR
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) July 12, 2022
Happy birthday to former #TeamIndia pacer, Munaf Patel. pic.twitter.com/0p8QndvQmP
— All India Radio Sports (@akashvanisports) July 12, 2022
Happy Birthday to Munaf Patel MI (Indian Cricket Player)
– Other Name : Munaf Musa Patel#MunafPatel #cricketplayer #MunafPatelBirthday
About : https://t.co/RpsdH7sQ2D pic.twitter.com/mHZ8svHlRj— Celebrity Born (@CelebrityBorn) July 12, 2022
