'Nobody remembers Rohit Sharma's knock in the 2007 T20 World Cup final' - Yuvraj Singh
Former Indian middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh has labelled Rohit Sharma's innings in the 2007 T20 World Cup final as the most important knock of the tournament. He added that the youngsters in the Indian team showcased their talent on the world stage during the tournament.
Yuvraj Singh shared his experiences as a cricketer, including India's title-winning run at the 2007 T20 World Cup, in an exclusive interaction on Sportskeeda's new series Free Hit, hosted by Indranil Basu and Shanivi Sadana.
On being asked if he had slept well on the night when he hit the six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad, Yuvraj Singh responded that he had enjoyed a nice sleep considering that he had been hit for five sixes in an over by the same England team a few days ago.
"I slept pretty well because a lot was going on. It was the first T20 tournament. We had no clue how to bat in T20s."
"I had been hit for 5 sixes against England. I was very happy that I hit 6 sixes against England. So fifteen days after getting hit, hitting 6 sixes against England gave me very good sleep."
Yuvraj Singh had been struck for 5 consecutive sixes in an over by Dimitri Mascarenhas in a One-Day International during India's tour to England prior to the 2007 T20 World Cup. The gifted left-handed batsman exacted revenge on the same English side by going one better, dispatching Stuart Broad for 6 sixes in an over.
Yuvraj Singh on the youngsters' role in the 2007 T20 World Cup win
Yuvraj Singh was further asked if he had realised that his devastating knock had broken the backbone of not only England but the rest of the competition, and whether he understood that the innings helped India to sail through the tournament.
The all-rounder replied that it was a collective team effort, including some special performances from young and talented cricketers, that had helped them clinch the title.
"We were a fearless bunch. We didn't know how to plan but we just wanted to go and express ourself. I remember we had some really outstanding talent in that tournament."
Yuvraj Singh reminisced about the South Africa game that he had to miss due to a tennis elbow and the half-century that Rohit Sharma had struck in that must-win encounter for the Indian team.
"I missed the South Africa game because of tennis elbow. Rohit debuted in that game. Rohit got a fifty in that game and you could see a young talented guy come on the scene."
Yuvraj Singh mentioned that the T20 World Cup had given a perfect opportunity to youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh and Sreesanth to showcase their talents on the world stage, which they grasped with both hands.
"It was just that the natural talent had been put on to the World stage. Guys like Robin Uthappa, who would have played a bit before that. Rohit's first tournament, he had just come in the side, hadn't played much cricket."
"RP Singh, Sreesanth - these young guys bowled some really outstanding spells. Lot of young talent really expressed their talent and did well in current situations. And I think that was the reason for us to get to the finals."
Yuvraj Singh credited Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan for their noteworthy performances in the final, apart from his own knocks against England and Australia.
"Gautam had an outstanding final with Irfan Pathan. So I think it was a collective effort. Yes I had two important innings against England and Australia which helped us to come through."
Yuvraj Singh highlighted Rohit Sharma's knock in the T20 World Cup final as the game-changer, as the innings took India to a fighting score after they seemed to be staring down the barrel.
"But everyone talks about myself or Gautam but nobody remembers that Rohit scored 36 off 18 or 20 balls in the final, which actually got us to 160. That was the most important knock of the tournament. Irfan took 3 wickets and was the Man of the Match but I think Rohit's inning was very special in the finals."
For the record, Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 30 runs off 16 deliveries to take India to a respectable total of 157/5 after they had been restricted to a score of 130/5 after 18 overs.