Reliving the 5 greatest Indian T20 Innings of all time
When T20 cricket started off in 2003 in England, many perceived it to be a format which would be played solely as a stress-buster, to relieve the stress of tests and ODIs. However, 14 years down the line, the T20 format has become the biggest money-spinner in the game of cricket.
India played its first T20 against South Africa, which resulted in a loss. When the World T20 came around in 2007, after the 50-over World Cup debacle, many of India’s high-profile names decided to give it a miss and give the youngsters a chance to represent India on the biggest stage.
Defying all the odds, India won the inaugural World T20 under the stewardship of MS Dhoni. A year later, the IPL was born and things have never looked back since. The IPL has become the biggest cricketing extravaganza on the calendar, with all the top players and coaches enrolling their name each year.
T20 cricket has become an indispensable part of Indian cricket lovers’ lives. The prospect of just spending three hours at a cricket ground, experiencing heart-stopping pieces of action has been too irresistible. Thus, it is only fitting that we take a look at the greatest innings played by Indians in cricket’s shortest format.
The innings considered are those that have been played in crunch situations, displaying extraordinary batting prowess.
Without wasting any more time, let us look at those innings which made the whole country fall in love with T20 cricket.
#5 Yuvraj Singh 58 vs England at Durban, 2007
India had lost the first game of the Super Eight phase to New Zealand. Anything other than victory would have condemned India to an early exit in the Rainbow nation.
India started off well with Gambhir and Sehwag putting on 136 for the first wicket. India started stumbling a little after their stand was broken and the score read 155-3 in 16.4 overs when Yuvraj walked in.
Yuvraj smashed the fastest T20 fifty on his way to a breath-taking 58 off 16 balls. However, that wasn’t the only record he shattered on the day. He carved Stuart Broad for 6 sixes in the 19th over to become the first man to achieve the feat in T20s.
Yuvraj was simply unstoppable on the day. He showed immense courage and mettle to come up with such a blistering inning in a crunch game.
For the clean hitting he produced and for the significance of his inning, it ranks as the 5th greatest Indian T20 inning of all time.