It was September 19, 2007. It was the first T20 World Cup being played. On this day, a roaring batsman, Yuvraj Singh, etched his name in the record books by becoming the first batsman ever to hit six sixes in a single over in a T20 match. At the receiving end was English bowler Stuart Broad.
Yuvraj became the first-ever Indian to do achieve such a feat in international cricket. Worldwide, he was the second person to do so, behind Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa, who sent The Netherlands’ bowler Daan van Bunge all over the park in the 2007 World Cup.
It was in the same match that Yuvraj Singh marched to a 50 off a meagre 12 balls, becoming the fastest to reach a half-century in T20 Internationals. He reached his 50 at a magnificent strike rate of 416.7. His record has only been equalled by Chris Gayle, but has not been broken so far.
ये भी पढ़े – अगर कोई ब्लैकमेल करने की कोशिश करे तो क्या करना चाहिए
It was in the super eight stage of the World Cup tournament. England, already eliminated, was playing against a solid Indian line-up at Kingsmead, Durban. Things went right for India, starting with the toss, when they chose to bat first.
Openers Gautam Gambhir (58) and Virender Sehwag (68) gave India the perfect take-off. India looked shook between the 15th and the 17th over, which cost them one wicket each. Yuvraj arrived when the situation looked bleak and propelled India to a brilliant total of 218.
England’s response was a strong one but they fell 18 runs short of the target. The Yuvraj Singh escapade had left the openers’ fifties eclipsed in his shadows, eventually winning the match for India.
At the end of the 18th over, Yuvraj and English bowler Andrew Flintoff had an altercation of sorts. When Broad arrived to bowl the next over, it seemed like Yuvraj took out all his ire on the balls flung at him. The first ball was a gigantic six over midwicket, hit with a speed of 133kmph. The second found its destination behind square. He looked unstoppable.
A soft, effortless loft found the ball over the boundary and a poor full toss after that was sent behind the midwicket. The excitement levels had begun to rise in the stadium with two more balls to go. At that point, even though Paul Collingwood and Broad had a chat, it didn’t seem to have been of any help.
The fifth delivery saw the ball being sent over midwicket which was followed by a huge swipe over the mid-on to end the over. Six balls and six sixes. The penultimate over saw England leaking 36 runs, which was an utter humiliation to the hapless team that had already made its way out of the tournament.
Everything that followed was like a mere anticlimax. Even a strong start for the English side, and a consistent rhythm throughout the match, could not undo the imposing target set by the Indians. While England did try to delay the inevitable, the Yuvraj blitz had shifted the ground beneath England’s feet before they even started their innings.
Even to this day, that one over brings so much joy and a wave of goosebumps to every Indian cricket fan. Well, what can we say? Yuvraj created magic with his bat that day!
Source – BT
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