Yuvraj hits six sixes

Yuvraj hits six sixes in an over against England DURBAN, September 19. 2007: Yuvraj Singh smashed fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over as India piled up 218-4 in a must-win match against England in the Twenty20 world championships on Wednesday.  ball-by-ball commentary ......... 18.1 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, that's out the ground, super shot over cow corner and it just kept going up.  18.2 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, now that really is sweet, no more than a dismissive flick off his legs, swatting a fly, and the ball arcs deep into the crowd beyond backward square leg. The dodgy TV measurement says that's 111 yards but as it landed outside the ground how do they know? They guess that's how.  18.3 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, he's hitting them everywhere, he steps to leg and smashes the ball over extra cover and it keeps on traveling. The fireworks start on top of the scoreboard and they've been going off in the middle for some time.  18.4 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, Shiver me timbers! Broad goes round the wicket, bowls a filthy wide full toss and Yuvraj steers it over backward point and it clears the rope again.  18.5 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, down on one knee and larruped over midwicket, that one was more nine iron, it went into the night sky and dropped with a thud in the jubilant crowd. England have a team meeting.  Broad looks quizzical and miserable. Can he, can Yuvraj do it. Broad looks like a man who knows he is about to be mauled again.  18.6 Broad to Yuvraj Singh, SIX, and he has, Yuvraj leans back and smacks that over wide mid-on. It was the maximum from the moment it left that bat and the crowd was roaring as it flew.    The left-hander's feat in the 19th over gave him the fastest 50 in the tournament off just 12 balls, eight deliveries less than what Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful achieved against the West Indies.  Yuvraj finished with 58 off 16 balls with seven sixes and three boundaries as India set England a formidable target of 11 runs an over at a Kingsmead stadium overflowing with joyous Indian fans. India, who lost their first match to New Zealand, must beat England and South Africa on Thursday to stay in contention for the semi-finals from group E.  New Zealand and South Africa top the group with two wins each, while England have already been knocked out of the semi-final race after losing their first two matches.  Yuvraj's blistering knock came after openers Virender Sehwag and Gambhir set the platform with a 136-run stand by the 15th over.  Sehwag made 68 off 52 balls with three sixes and four boundaries. His Delhi team-mate Gambhir hit 58 off 41 balls with seven fours and a six.  Gambhir began the run glut in the fifth over by smashing Broad over the mid-wicket fence for the first six of the innings.  Sehwag welcomed Dimitri Mascarenhas into the attack by slicing a six over point and cut Chris Tremlett over third man for his second big shot.  Sehwag's third six was over point against England captain Paul Collingwood in the 10th over, two balls after Mascarenhas floored a skier at third man.  Tremlett broke the partnership in the 15th over when he bowled Sehwag as the batsman went for a wild heave.  Two more wickets fell in the next two overs as Darren Maddy had Gambhir caught at short third man and Tremlett bowled Robin Uthappa in his fourth and final over. Yuvraj is primarily a left-handed batsman but can  bowl part-time left-arm orthodox spin. He is  regarded as being a better player of fast bowling  than spin bowling, and cites the Indian Oil  Cup 2005 as a turning point in his career .  He is one of the better fielders in the Indian team,  fielding primarily at point, with a good aim at the  stumps. A Cricinfo report in late 2005 showed that  since 1999, he was the fourth most prolific  fielder in effecting ODI run outs, and of those  on the list of prolific fielders, he had the second  highest rate of effecting a run out .  He was previously often characterized as having  attitude problems, but now often assumes  leadership positions whilst either captain  Rahul Dravid or vice-captain Virender Sehwag  are absent.Yuvraj Singh's Special Person Australia vs. India Match.....

Yuvraj first came to attention when he captained the U-19 Punjab cricket team in the final of the Cooch-Behar Trophy against Bihar U-19s, in which he scored 358 . He then gained selection for the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in January 2000, where he was part of a team lead by Mohammed Kaif which won the tournament

Yuvraj made his One-day International debut against Kenya at Nairobi in 2000, at the ICC Knock-Out Trophy. He showed his potential in his second ODI which was against the Australians where he scored a quickfire 84 off 82 balls against a quality pace attack consisting of bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. However, after a lean run of form, he was dropped for the one-dayers against Australia in India in early 2001, but returned later in the year and helped India to victory in a match in Sri Lanka  with an unbeaten 98.One of his most memorable innings was a partnership with Mohammad Kaif in the Natwest Series final against England in July 2002 which led India to victory. He was selected and represented India at the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He scored his first century in his fourth season with the Indian team against Bangladesh in 2003. After that he also scored hundreds against Zimbabwe and Australia, including a 139 off 119 balls at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In the Indian Oil Cup 2005, he made 110 (of 114 balls) (his third century) and an important partnership worth 165 runs with Mohammad Kaif, to become the man of the match against West Indies in the last match of the round robin league. After reaching his century, he attracted attention by angry gesticulations to the Indian dressing room, which was postulated to be due to his clashes with team management. Greg Chappell had been appointed as the new Indian coach he had cricticised Singh. He later praised Chappell's techniques.   Yuvraj has had a recent (late 2005 to early 2006) run of good form in the ODI format of the game. He was named as the man of the series in three consecutive series, against South Africa (joint with Irfan Pathan), and then against Pakistan and England, in which he scored three centuries and four half-centuries in fifteen matches, which propelled him into the top ten of the ICC ODI batting rankings. During the Pakistan tour, at times when captain and vice-captain Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag were absent, Yuvraj was the on-field captain, indicating that he may be seen as a potential captain

Yuvraj made his Test debut against New Zealand in Mohali in late 2003 in front of his home crowd in Punjab due to the absence of regular captain Sourav Ganguly in the No. 6 position. He was omitted upon Ganguly's return but got another another opportunity in the Test team in the 2004 Tour to Pakistan, when Ganguly was again injured. He scored his first Test century in a losing effort against Pakistan in the second Test at Lahore. When Ganguly returned for the third Test, Akash Chopra was dropped and it appeared that the Indian selectors wanted to give him a regular place in the team. He was subsequently played as Virender Sehwag's opening partner, but after two poor matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, he was dropped in favour of Gautam Gambhir. He was recalled to the Test team, batting in the No. 6 position for the away series against Zimbabwe in August 2005 after Sachin Tendulkar was sidelined with tennis elbow. He then retained his position in the Test team after Ganguly was axed following a row with coach Greg Chappell. He scored a second Test century in the third Test against Pakistan, which India again lost.

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