Five famous moments involving Yuvraj Singh
Arguably one of India's finest white-ball all-rounders, Yuvraj Singh terrorized many bowling attacks when he was at his very best. He was an integral part of the Indian team of his times and he made the side reach great heights with his exploits.
With a year gone already since him announcing his retirement, here is a look at five famous moments involving the swashbuckling southpaw from Chandigarh.
#1.Yuvraj Singh's explosive debut
The Indian team was in turmoil towards the turn of the century as many players were under the scanner for being involved in the match-fixing scandal. Sourav Ganguly was thus named the captain of a young Indian team that had many new faces.
This Indian team went all the way to the final of the ICC Knockouts 2000 where they were beaten by New Zealand. It was this tournament where 20-year-old Yuvraj Singh made his first mark.
In his debut innings against Australia, Yuvraj Singh scored 84 runs off just 80 balls including 12 fours. His fearless brand of batsmanship was something that the Australians were clearly not well prepared for. India ended up winning the game with Yuvraj Singh having announced himself on the international stage in grand fashion.
#2. Partnership with Mohammad Kaif in the NatWest Final
The 2002 NatWest Trophy final is remembered as one of India's famous wins on foreign soil, more so for the way Sourav Ganguly celebrated by taking his off shirt in the Lords' balcony. India faced England in the final at the Home of Cricket and were set a mammoth target of 326 to win thanks to hundreds from Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain.
India got off to a great start as both Virender Sehwag and skipper Sourav Ganguly added 106 runs for the first wicket in just 14.3 overs. But things turned sour quickly as India slumped to 146-5 and were in deep trouble.
This is when two young guns in the form of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif stepped up to the table. The duo added 121 runs for the sixth wicket, off which Yuvraj Singh made 69 runs. Kaif remained unbeaten on 87 in the end as India chased down the target with 2 wickets in hand.
#3. Six sixes in an over in the first T20 World Cup
Yuvraj Singh was an important part of India's 2007 T20 World Cup triumph and he will always be remembered for hammering Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. India faced England in a do-or-die encounter and got off to a great start due to half-centuries from both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
Yuvraj Singh smashed two boundaries of Andrew Flintoff's bowling and it was enough to start a heated exchange of words between the duo. This enraged and triggered Yuvraj and he smashed Broad for 36 runs in the very next over. He also brought up the fastest fifty in T20Is in just 12 balls in the process. India won the game by 18 runs and Yuvraj proved to be the difference between the sides.
#4. India's highest successful run chase in home Tests
In England's tour of India in 2008, the first Test saw a new record being created in the history of Indian cricket with the home team managing to record their highest successful run chase on home soil.
Thanks to hundreds in both innings from England skipper Andrew Strauss, England were able to set a daunting target of 387 for India to chase down. India got off to a fantastic start and, with Virender Sehwag hitting a quickfire 83 off just 68 balls, India could think of gong for the win rather than playing out a draw.
Gautam Gambhir also contributed with a well-made 66. At 224-4, things still looked tricky as it was still anyone's game. This is when Yuvraj Singh stepped up and formed an important partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar ended on an unbeaten century while Yuvraj's unbeaten 85 ensured that India were able to chase down the steep target.
#5. World Cup-winning six by MS Dhoni
One of the most iconic moments in Indian cricket has to be MS Dhoni smashing Nuwan Kulasekara for a six over long-on which proved to be the decisive blow for India winning the 2011 World Cup. MS Dhoni had promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh and played a captain's knock scoring an unbeaten 91. Gautam Gambhir's 97 was also very crucial in India being able to chase down the target of 275 set by Sri Lanka.
Although Yuvraj did not have much to do with the bat in the final (he did pick up two wickets), he remained unbeaten and was at the other end when Dhoni hit the winning runs,thus getting the best view of the shot.
Yuvraj Singh was India's trump card in many games throughout the World Cup as he won four man-of-the-match awards and ended up winning the player-of-the-tournament award as well.
Yuvraj's battle with cancer and the way in which he kept on coming back showed how strong he was mentally and also showed the burning desire within him to play for India again and win games of cricket for them. Perhaps this is why he is involved in so many iconic moments in Indian cricket.