June 10, 2019, marks the official end of the legendary cricketing career of Yuvraj Singh. The limited-overs stalwart took the Indian team to unscaled heights since making his debut in the 2000 Champions Trophy in Kenya.
From there on, Yuvi never looked back and kept making giant strides in world cricket, turning out to become one of the most prolific match-winners for India in recent years.
The Punjab star represented India in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, amassing 8,701 runs in ODIs, 1900 runs in Tests and 1177 runs in the shortest format.
On Wednesday, ardent Yuvi fans took to Twitter to celebrate the first anniversary after his retirement, with the hashtag ‘Miss you Yuvi’.
Today, let’s celebrate Yuvraj Singh’s glittering career, looking at the five-career defining knock of one of the finest cricketers produced by India:
1.) 69 (63) vs England in 2002 Natwest Trophy Final at Lord’s
This knock of Yuvraj holds a special place in the hearts of all Indian cricket enthusiasts, as the ‘Men in Blue’ were in no position to win the match, chasing 325, and reduced to 146-5 at the mid-way stage.
The onus was then on two young turks, Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif to save the drowning Indian boat at Lord’s. Yuvraj and Kaif (87*) stitched a priceless partnership of 121 runs which helped India clinch the 2002 Natwest Trophy.
The knock was just a trailer of the brilliance to follow from the swashbuckling left-hander.
2.) 58 (16) vs England in the 2007 T20 World Cup at Durban
Five years after his heroics at Lord’s, Yuvraj went on to flex his dominance in the sport during the 2007 T20 World Cup.
In the group stage game against England, Andrew Flintoff made a costly mistake of enraging Yuvraj, as Stuart Broad faced the brunt of his actions.
Yuvraj hit six sixes off a single over from Broad and still holds the record for the fastest half-century in T20I cricket with his 16-ball 58 blitzkrieg.
3.) 70 (30) vs Australia in 2007 T20 World Cup at Durban
Following his explosive knock against England, Yuvraj single-handedly batted the Australians out of the semi-finals of the tournament.
Yuvraj’s pyrotechnics consisted of five boundaries and an equal number of maximums, one of which scaled a 119-metre, with a mere flick to Brett Lee.
4.) 113 (123) vs West Indies 2011 ODI World Cup at Chennai
This knock of Yuvraj should be written in gold in the history books. Enduring hot and humid conditions at Chepauk, fighting through a deadly ailment such as cancer, Yuvraj didn’t give up and scored a match-winning 113 against West Indies in the group-stage encounter of the World Cup.
Yuvraj was crowned the ‘Man of the Tournament’ of the multilateral competition, for his three-dimensional contributions.
Yuvi was seen throwing up, huffing and puffing while running between the wickets, all before his lung cancer was diagnosed.
5.) 150 (127) vs England in 2017 at Cuttack
After emerging victorious in his battle against Cancer, Yuvraj Singh proved to be a source of inspiration for one and all, coming back into the Indian side.
However, it turned out to be an anti-climax for Yuvraj during the finals of 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. His sluggish knock led to an India loss against Sri Lanka in the much-anticipated finals.
Soon, selectors dropped him from the national team, and Yuvraj had to do the hard yards in domestic cricket to prove his worth all over again.
And so he did during the 2016 T20I series against Australia. Yuvraj, along with Raina, chased down 17 needed in the final over. It helped the southpaw making his way into the One-day side.
In the 2017 ODI series against England, Yuvraj ended up with his career-best score, when the team needed him the most.
Yuvi, coming in to bat with the score at 25-3, slammed 150 with Dhoni (134) to stitch a record partnership of 256 runs for the fourth wicket, as India won the match after posting a mammoth 381.
