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The Indian star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh who played a crucial role in his team's success in the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup has turned 42 today. Yuvraj Singh was the biggest match-winner for his team in the 2000s period, hence in this article, we will look at some of his important achievements from his cricketing career.
1. Under-19 WC Winner in 2000:
Yuvraj Singh's all-round effort played a key role in team India's victory during the 2000 U-19 World Cup as he scored 203 runs with the bat from 7 innings at a strike rate of 103.57 and also picked 12 wickets in the tournament from 8 games.
As a result of his brilliant performance, he got a chance to make his debut for Team India in ICC Champions Trophy 2000. In his debut ODI innings, he smashed 84 runs off 80 balls against Australia in the 1st quarter-final game and helped his team to progress to the next stage (semi-finals) of the tournament.
2. Natwest Series victory in 2002:
Yuvraj Singh played a crucial role in winning the Natwest series finals against England at Lord's venue in 2002. Indian team needed 326 runs to win the Natwest Series 2002 finals and unfortunately, they were struggling at 146/5 after 24 overs, but a brilliant 121-run partnership between Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh for the sixth wicket saw India chasing down their highest-ever total in ODI history.
India were also joint-winners of ICC Champions Trophy 2002 with Sri Lanka. Yuvraj Singh played a crucial role against South Africa in the semi-final match by smashing 62 runs off 72 balls and also took an important catch of Jonty Rhodes to tilt the match in favour of team India.
3. First batsman to smash six sixes in an over in T20I history:
Yuvraj Singh in the 2007 T20 World Cup match against England became the first ever batsman to smash six sixes in an over in the T20I history. He went on to smash the fastest fifty from just 12 balls in T20I history, a record which stood for 16 years (till 2023).
Fastest fifty in men's T20I history (by balls faced):
- Dipendra Singh Airee - 9b vs Mongolia in the 2023 Men's Asian Games
- Yuvraj Singh - 12b vs England in the 2007 T20 World Cup
- Mirza Ahsan - 13b vs Luxembourg in the 2019 Continental Cup
Batsman to smash six sixes in a T20I game:
- Yuvraj Singh vs England in the 2007 T20 World Cup
- Kieron Pollard vs Sri Lanka in 2021 at Antigua
4. T20 World Cup winner in 2007:
Yuvraj Singh was part of Team India's squad which won the inaugural ICC men's T20 World Cup in 2007. Yuvraj Singh played a key role in India's triumph by smashing a 12-ball fifty against England in Durban and also smashed 70 runs in just 30 balls against Australia in the semi-final game at Durban.
Yuvraj Singh in total scored 148 runs in 2007 T20 WC from just five innings at an impressive strike rate of 194.73. Yuvraj Singh for the second time after 2000 CT performed brilliantly with the bat against Australia in an ICC knock-out game.
5. ODI World Cup winner in 2011:
Yuvraj Singh was the key reason for team India's success in lifting the ODI World Cup 2011 as he was named player of the series for his brilliant all-round performance where he scored 362 runs with the bat and also picked 15 wickets with the ball.
Yuvraj Singh smashed four fifties and one century in the 2011 WC with the bat. Yuvraj Singh despite struggling with blood vomit smashed a century against West Indies at Chennai while batting at number 4 position and against Australia in the quarter-final match once again he smashed a brilliant fifty to ensure India entered the next stage (semi-finals) of the tournament.
Yuvraj achieved the feat of scoring 50 runs and picking 5 wickets in the 2011 WC group stage game against Ireland.
6. Scored 8000-plus runs in his ODI career at the age of 29 itself:
Yuvraj Singh from 2000 to the 2011 World Cup smashed 8051 runs in his ODI career, however post-ICC 2011 World Cup he wasn't playing ODIs until December 2012 since he got diagnosed with cancer at the wrong point of time in his career. Notably, Yuvraj Singh has been among the top three players on the list for scoring the most ODI runs at the age of 29 (or) less.
Most runs in ODIs till the age of 29:
- Sachin Tendulkar - 12219 (305 inns)
- Virat Kohli - 10232 (208 inns)
- Yuvraj Singh - 8051 (252 inns)
7. Holds the record for playing 300-plus matches in ODIs and 400-plus matches in International cricket:
Yuvraj Singh was seen playing ODIs for India in 2017 after four years and during Champions Trophy 2017, he achieved the feat of playing 300 matches in ODI cricket.
Most matches played by an Indian player in ODIs:
- Sachin Tendulkar - 463
- MS Dhoni - 350
- Rahul Dravid - 344
- Mohammad Azharuddin - 334
- Sourav Ganguly - 311
- Yuvraj Singh - 304
Yuvraj Singh post CT 2017 was seen playing a three-match ODI series against West Indies in June 2017 where he achieved the milestone of playing 400 matches in International cricket.
Most matches played by an Indian player in International cricket:
- Sachin Tendulkar - 664
- MS Dhoni - 538
- Virat Kohli - 518
- Rahul Dravid - 509
- Rohit Sharma - 462
- Mohammad Azharuddin - 433
- Sourav Ganguly - 424
- Anil Kumble - 403
- Yuvraj Singh - 402
Yuvraj Singh despite missing out on playing several games due to his health issues, still managed to represent his country in many games.
