Yuvraj Singh has bid adieu to International Cricket this week, and the left-hander has been a magnificent white ball cricketer.
He was the greatest all-rounder India has produced and his contribution can’t be forgotten.
We all remember Yuvi’s role in India’s World Cup win in 2011. He was also named man of the tournament. He is a fighter and showed us just that when he defeated cancer.
Yuvraj has played 304 ODI’s and scored 8701 runs at an average of 36.55 with 14 centuries and 52 half centuries. His best score is 150, scored against England at Cuttack in 2017.
He is an equally good bowler, taking 111 wickets at an average of 38.18 and economy rate 5.09. Yuvi has two four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.
139 vs Australia in Sydney
On the 22nd of January, 2004, Yuvraj scored a sensational hundred against the Aussies in Australia.
India was in deep trouble when he joined VVS Laxman, losing Sourav Ganguly, Parthiv Patel and Rahul Dravid with only 80 runs on the scoreboard, while Sachin Tendulkar was also absent.
Yuvraj and Laxman rebuilt the Indian innings with a huge 213-run partnership, changing the game into India’s favour. India posted a competitive total of 4 for 296 as Yuvraj and Laxman both slammed centuries.
Yuvi was finally out on 139, just 3 balls from the end and Laxman was not out on 106 runs. But fortune didn’t favour India as they lost this match by 2 wickets on Duckworth-Lewis.
84 vs Australia
Yuvraj Singh was a major find in the 2000 under-19 World Cup. In the same year’s Champions Trophy, India defeated Kenya by 8 wickets, before taking on Australia.
India was sent in to bat first by Australia, but after a decent start, lost momentum when Tendulkar was dismissed by Brett Lee on 38. With Sourav Ganguly, Vinod Kambli, Vijay Dahiya and Sachin Tendulkar also back in the dressing room, it was Yuvraj’s 84 from 80 balls which gave India some momentum.
It would be Yuvraj’s first half-century in ODI cricket as he recovered with the tail, namely adding 64 with Robin Singh before finally being removed by Shane Lee, but he had guided India to 265 from 50 overs.
India went on to win by 20 runs, bowling Australia out for 245 from 46.4 overs as Yuvraj picked up his first man of the match award.
69 vs England in Natwest Series Final
On July 13, 2002, Lord’s was truly entertained as England batted first and piled on 325, before India’s openers put on 106 to get the chase going.
Wickets of Ganguly and Virender Sehwag in consecutive overs put India on the back foot, and England hammered home the advantage with Dinesh Mongia, Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar all departing in quck succession, laving India in a spot of bother at 6 for 145.
At that point, youngsters Vuvraj Singh and Mohd Kaif began the rescue act, turning the match around on its head. England couldn’t break their partnership as they added 121 runs for the sixth wicket, ensuring India were in the game.
After Yuvraj got out for a well made 69, Kumble couldn’t hang around with Kaif. He was out very quickly in the span of two balls, before Kaif was involved with small partnerships with Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan to give India a famous win at Lord’s.
102 not out vs Bangladesh in Dhaka
This was Yuvraj Singh’s first ODI hundred against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2003.
India batted first, scoring 296 in 50 overs. It was Yuvraj’s innings of 102 not out which powered India to such a score. His partnership of 92 for the seventh wicket with Ajit Agarkar turned the game around for India after they were reeling at 6 for 172.
This massive stand was broken when Ajit Agarkar was dismissed by Khaled Mahmud. After Yuvraj took the onus and made sure that he got India to a respectable position.
In that process, he also completed his wonderful century. This performance from Yuvi charged the bowlers to and they bundled out the minnows for just 76 in 27.3 overs.
138 not out vs England at Rajkot:
England toured India in 2008, and in the opener, India were sent in to bat
That decision proved very costly for the visitors. India got off to an awesome start. Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag put on 127 runs in just 19.5 overs to get things going, before they both fell in the space of a few overs.
Suresh Raina also played well for his 43 but got out very early. He built a partnership of 89 runs with Yuvi. Then captain MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh took the charge, their partnership of 105 giving India huge momentum in that game.
This 109-run stand was finally broken by Dhoni’s wicket. But no one could stop Yuvi.
He smashed the England bowlers out of the park and in this process he completed his well deserved century. His unbeaten partnership with Rohit Sharma gave India the finishing touch to their innings. Yuvraj scored 138 not out with Rohit who supported him well.
India’s target of 388 was massive, and they could only manage 229 in 37.4 overs as India won the match by a huge margin of 158 runs.
118 vs England at Indore
This was the second game of the series and Yuvraj scored hundreds in consecutive matches. This innings helped India to get out of trouble.
England’s bowlers did a decent job in the match, putting India under pressure by picking up quick wickets. India were in deep trouble when Yuvi came in to bat. His knock of 118 runs saved India though, who ended up with 292.
He was equally well supported by Yusuf Pathan. Yuvi showed his all-round skills by dismissing four English batsman batsmen, taking 4 for 28. His all-round show gave India a big 54-run win.
150 vs England in Cuttack
India were already up by the margin of 1-0 in the 3 match ODI series. To clinch the series here, India needed to bat well, but the openers failed to put on a good show, and before long it was 3 for 25.
It was then that MS Dhoni and Yuvraj joined at the crease and they started the repairing process which was needed. Dhoni and Yuvi shared a match-winning partnership of 256 runs which turned things in India’s favour. Yuvi scored his first and only plus 150 score of his career, while Dhoni contributed with 134 runs.
India managed to score 381, but this match ran closer than expected.
Eoin Morgan blasted 102 runs , while Jason Roy and Joe Root both went past 50. England tried hard, but the visitors couldn’t get over the line as India won the match and series by just 15 runs.
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