Irfan Pathan retires: Look back at Player of the Match of inaugural T20 World Cup finale

After making his Test debut back in 2003, India's once ace all-rounder, Irfan Pathan announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Saturday. The all-rounder known for his ability to swing the ball and short cameos with the bat starred for India and helped the team lift the first-ever T20 World Cup. 

The Baroda-lad who is the first and only bowler to bag a hat-trick in the first over of the match has helped the team out of tricky situations, on numerous occasions. In fact, apart from Pathan's bowling abilities, he also starred with the bat as several occasion as he amassed 1544 runs off the 87 innings that he played in One Day Internationals. 

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Pathan shines for India in final

However, Pathan is fondly remembered for his spell in 2007 where under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a young Indian side went on to lift the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa. After batting first, India put up a total of 157 runs courtesy of Gautam Gambhir's magnificent innings of 75 runs. Arch-rivals Pakistan lost a few early wickets but yet looked determined to set up a strong challenge for the Indian team. 

However, Irfan Pathan had different plans as he rattled the Pakistani line-up. Pathan scalped skipper Shoaib Malik first and then went on to send Shahid Afridi back to the pavilion for a golden duck. He also got hold of Yasir Arafat's wicket to end his spell. His figures of 3 wickets off 4 overs and giving away just 16 runs helped him bag the Player of the Match award. 

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Irfan Pathan to make his acting debut

You have heard that right. After an impressive cricketing career, Irfan Pathan has tried his luck in commentary and as an expert analyst but now, he is all set to make his acting debut in a film starring superstar Vikram in the lead role. The movie which had been tentatively titled “Vikram 58” will be directed by Ajay Gnanamuthu and produced by  Lalith Kumar’s Seven Screen Studio.

As per reports, musical maestro and the Oscar-award winning music composer AR Rahman will be working on the music of this film while Sivakumar Vijayan has been roped in as the cinematographer. The movie which is touted as an action-thriller will be shot in multiple locations across India and different countries.

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