One of the finest batsman in world cricket, Yuvraj Singh has announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday. He played key roles in winning India major tournaments like World T20 2007, World Cup 2011 and many more memorable moments.
Yuvraj Singh played a total of 40 Test matches, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is for Team India. The cricketing fraternity saw some great cricketing moments from Yuvraj Singh”s bat. During the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh played with a life-threatening disease and still won the trophy for the country. He vomited during the match against West Indies in WC 2011 and the result was cancer.
The 37-year-old Yuvraj scored 1,900 runs from 40 Test matches. In ODIs, the all-rounder scored 8701 runs from 304 matches (278 innings) with the best score of 150. With the ball also, Yuvraj Singh took 111 wickets from 304 matches (161 innings) with best figures of 5/31. In the 58 T20I matches (51 innings) he played, he scored 1177 runs. His contributions to Indian cricket has been tremendous.
Here we look at the top 6 innings of Yuvraj Singh in International Cricket:-
3/39 and 64* vs England
Yuvraj Singh showed his all-round abilities during the first match of the Natwest Tri-series against England on 29th June 2002 at Lords, London. England captain Nasser Hussain decided to bat first. Yuvraj took 3 key wickets of Nasser Hussain, Andrew Flintoff and Graeme Thorpe. He finished with figures of 3/39 in 7 overs. England posted 271 for 7 in 50 overs.
Chasing the target of 272 runs to win, Sehwag and Ganguly added 109 runs for the opening wicket. They lost 4 quick wickets after that. Yuvraj Singh played a brilliant knock remaining not out on 64 off 65 balls and added unbeaten 131 runs for the 5th wicket to guide India for a 6 wicket win with 7 balls to spare. He was named the man of the match for his all-round effort.
139 vs Australia, ODI
Yuvraj played another brilliant inning for India in the VB Tri-series match against Australia at Sydney on 22nd January 2004. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly won the toss and decided to bat first. India was struggling at 80 for 3. Yuvi came to the crease and played audaciously.
Yuvraj scored 139 off 122 balls with 16 fours and 2 sixes, put on 213 runs for the 4th wicket with Rahul Dravid who also scored a century. India ended up with 296 for 4 in 50 overs.
Australia was given a revised target of 225 in 34 overs. Despite Singh”s valiant 139, India lost the match by 2 wickets with 1 ball remaining. Yuvraj Singh was awarded the man of the match for his brilliant knock.
107* vs Pakistan, 2006 Karachi ODI
After being 3-1 up in the series against arch-rivals Pakistan, Yuvraj Singh showed his class in the 5th ODI of the tour. In that match, Indian captain Rahul Dravid won the toss and decided to field.
Younis Khan 74*, Mohammad Yousuf 67 and contributions from Adul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat, Pakistan posted 286 for 8 in 50 overs.
Chasing the target of 287 runs to win, Indian openers Gambhir and Rahul Dravid laid a strong foundation adding 69 runs. After the loss of 2 openers, Yuvraj Singh played a knock to remember with 107 off 93 balls comprising of 14 fours. Alongside MS Dhoni the pair put up an unbeaten partnership of 146 runs for the 3rd wicket to guide India to a famous 8 wicket win with 19 balls to spare.
50 off 12 balls vs England, World T20 2007
Yuvraj Singh showed his class during the World T20 2007 match against England in Durban on 19th September. It was an innings of sheer destruction by Yuvraj who smashed the fastest 50 in international cricket. Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. Sehwag and Gambhir laid a strong foundation adding 136 runs for the opening wicket.
Yuvi”s knock is known only for one reason which is hitting Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over. Yuvraj scored 58 off 16 balls with 3 fours and 7 sixes at a strike rate of 362.50. India posted 218 for 4 in 20 overs.
Despite England good batting effort, India won the match by 18 runs. Yuvraj Singh was named as the man of the match for his brilliant 58 off 16 balls. He played a key role in India’s success in this tournament.
169 vs Pak 2007, Bangalore Test
Yuvraj Singh posted his highest Test score against Pakistan at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore from 8-12th December 2007. Indian captain Anil Kumble won the toss and decided to bat first.
It was a disappointing start for the Indian team, as they lost 4 quick wickets at the score of 61. Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly led the recovery for the Indian team.
The Southpaw Yuvraj played positively intent and put pressure on Pakistan bowling line up. He and Sourav Ganguly added 300 runs for the 5th wicket. Singh scored 169 off 203 balls with 28 fours and 1 six. India posted a massive total of 626 all out in the first innings.
In their first innings, Pakistan posted 537. Yuvraj Singh scored just 2 runs in India’s second innings. The 3rd Test match between India and Pakistan ended in a draw.
77* vs. Australia 2013, Rajkot T20I
Yuvraj Singh showed his class during the one-off T20 match against Australia at Rajkot on 10th October 2003. Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to field first. Contributions from Aaron Finch, Maddinson, Maxwell helped Australia post a massive target of 201 for 7 in 20 overs.
In reply, Yuvraj Singh came after the fall of Dhawan’s wicket. He played with positive intent putting pressure on the Australian bowling line up.
His knock of 77* off 35 balls with 8 fours and 5 sixes, partnership of 102 unbeaten runs with MS Dhoni, guided India to a famous 6 wicket win with 2 balls to spare.
Yuvraj was named the man of the match for his match-winning performance. Yuvraj Singh 77* was his top score in T20I cricket for India.
5/31, 50 vs. Ireland, World Cup 2011
The match took place between India and Ireland at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi on 6th March 2011. He was the pick of bowlers for India with 5 for 31 in his 10 overs and helped them to bowl out Ireland for 207 in 47.5 overs.
Chasing the target of 208 runs to win, India were struggling at 100 for 4. Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni added 67 runs for the 5th wicket. Singh remained not out on 50 and helped India register 5 wicket win with 4 overs to spare. He was named the man of the match for his all-round performance. Yuvraj Singh became the first player to score a half-century and take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup match.