Happy Birthday Yuvraj Singh: 5 best knocks of India’s legendary all-rounder – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is a glittering chapter in the illustrious history of Indian cricket. Unquestionably one of the greatest match-winners of all time in limited-overs cricket, the southpaw served the Men in Blue for almost two decades in spectacular fashion. When the rest of the side failed to provide much, Yuvraj emerged as the sailor of the ship and took them singlehandedly to the victory line on many occasions. Not only with the bat, but he also had an exceptional ability to baffle any top batter with his crafty left-arm spin.

During his career, Yuvraj played 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is in the Indian outfit and racked up 8701 and 1177 runs respectively.

His ODI wickets tally is also noteworthy. He scalped 111 wickets. Today, Yuvraj Singh celebrates his 41st birthday. On this special occasion, let’s take a look at the best knocks of India’s one of the best big-match players:

69 vs England, NatWest Series Final (2002):

Yuvraj Singh’s early career received a significant boost when he co-starred with Mohammad Kaif in one of India’s most inspirational ODI victories in modern-day cricket. With India still needing 180 runs in a huge 326-run target, the two joined hands after half of India’s batting went back to the hut. Yuvraj displayed exceptional maturity in a nerve-wracking chase by relying on his aggressive batting instincts to score a quickfire 69 off just 63 balls. He made sure the run rate was maintained properly, while Kaif kept one end engaged. Even though he left for the pavilion with 59 runs left to be chased, India still managed to clinch the victory by two wickets.

139 vs Australia, 2004:

In a match between India and Australia in Sydney in 2004, Yuvraj created devastation by smashing the ball all over the field. Winning the toss, India were struggling at a score of 80/3 as Australia’s pace attack started breathing fire with the ball. At this point, the left-hander came on and helped his team reach a respectable 296 in 50 overs by scoring 139 runs off 122 deliveries. The crucial knock included 16 boundaries and two maximums. However, Australia managed to come out victorious thanks to the D/L method.

58 vs England, T20 World Cup (2007):

Yuvraj Singh turned out to be a dominant figure during the inaugural T20 world cup. Every Indian cricket fan would always remember and cherish his innings in Durban. He shattered two important records by scoring the fastest International half-century in just 12 balls and smashing six consecutive sixes off England’s Stuart Broad. His performance also enabled India to produce 200 runs for the first time in a T20I.

57 vs Australia, ICC World Cup (2011):

Yuvraj Singh indeed became the centrepiece of the 2011 World Cup. He was named the Player of the Tournament, delivering numerous noteworthy efforts that included a critical half-century under pressure against Australia in the quarterfinals. India continued to struggle a bit in the middle of their 261-run chase and wound up at 143-3. Singh rose to the occasion and handled the pressure of anchoring a chase in a World Cup game. Even though wickets continued dropping at the other end, his tenacity and Suresh Raina’s skilful support at the end helped India advance to the winning moment with 14 balls remaining. Singh remained unbeaten at 57 off 65 deliveries.

150 vs England, 2017:

This could be regarded as one of Yuvraj’s best ODI innings given that he went on to score his highest ODI number. Additionally, his performance in this innings was a pivotal one since he was making a comeback. When MS Dhoni joined Singh at the crease, the Indian top order had already collapsed and the team was reeling at 25/3. The two legendary batters stitched a 256-run stand to put up a whopping 381 runs on the board. Yuvraj scored 150 runs off 127 balls, and Dhoni added another 134. India clinched the victory by 15 runs, and the left-handed batter was chosen the Player of the Match.

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