Pakistan captain Younis Khan will never forget the dropped catch that proved so costly in the Champions Trophy semifinal loss to New Zealand.
Younis, who opted to play in the tournament despite fracturing a finger in a warm-up match, put down a simple chance off Grant Elliott when the New Zealand batsman was on 42.
Elliott went on to score unbeaten 75 and guided the Kiwis in a successful run chase.
“It will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Younis told reporters. “Maybe the result could have been different had I not dropped that catch.”
He said he decided to play in the Champions Trophy with a broken finger because he was desperate to win a second international title in 2009 following Pakistan’s stunning win in the Twenty20 world championship in July.
“I wanted to win another big tournament this year and give a gift to my countrymen,” he said.
Another motivation was the venue.
“We have been sidelined (to host international matches), it was my wish to bring back the trophy to Pakistan,” said Younis, who declined to comment on some contentious umpiring decisions in the loss to New Zealand.
Television replays showed the ball had deflected off Umar Akmal’s bat before hitting the pads, but Australian umpire Simon Taufel adjudged him leg before wicket. Both Taufel and English umpire Ian Gould turned down several confident lbw appeals when the New Zealanders batted.
Instead, he blamed the batsmen for not scoring enough runs in the semifinal and praised New Zealand for playing as a team throughout the tournament. “We were probably 20-30 runs short in the end,” he said.