Exactly 12 years ago on September 19, Yuvraj Singh had the world at his feet. On September 19, 2007, Yuvraj Singh became the first cricketer to hit six sixes in an over in a T20I. Yuvraj achieved the feat against England fast bowler Stuart Broad in a T20 World Cup match in Kingsmead Durban to etch his name on the history books. Yuvraj was also the first and till the date the only Indian to hit six sixes in an over any form of the game. 12 years of Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in an over in T20 World Cup
BCCI celebrated the 12th anniversary of Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in an over in T20 World Cup incredible achievement by sharing a collage comprising each of Yuvraj’s sixes.
6⃣6⃣6⃣6⃣6⃣6⃣#OnThisDay in 2007, @YUVSTRONG12 etched his name into the record books by hitting six sixes in an over. 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/VDKAQJLof2
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 19, 2019
12 years ago, I had microphone in my hand and junior had the willow. Relive the magic – @YUVSTRONG12 https://t.co/XiiTNPE1n7
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) September 19, 2019
What made Yuvraj’s innings even more special was the situation of the game. India was in a tight spot as they had to beat England to keep their chances alive of making it to the semi-finals of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup.
The drama began when the Men in Blue were on 171/3 at the end of the 18th over in their first innings. With Yuvraj and then skipper MS Dhoni at the crease, the duo was looking to finish off on a high by collecting as many runs in the death overs.
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Yuvraj smashed Andrew Flintoff for two fours in the 18th over, which infuriated the England bowler. The pair got involved in a big altercation which came to an end after the intervention from the on-field umpires.
“When you play for the country the emotions are always high. You can get angry too… Flintoff probably didn’t like the shots I played off his bowling in the previous over so he had a few words to say and that just motivated me,” said Yuvraj told Star Sports reflecting on the incident.
What the verbal altercation did was that it pumped up Yuvraj and it was Stuart Broad who bore the brunt of his onslaught in the very next over.
In the 19th over of the innings, the left-handed batsman from Punjab made sure England paid the price for their over-aggressiveness and hit six maximums of consecutive deliveries from Broad.
The first one went over deep mid-wicket, the next over backward square leg, the third one over wide long-off, then a swat over a deep point to a full toss, the fifth one a hoick over square leg and finally a massive hit over wide long-on.
In the process, the Punjab-lad rocketed away to a 12-ball half-century and it was also the first time it happened in a T20I. It remains the fastest half-century till date in the shortest format of the game.
The southpaw eventually finished on 58 (three 4s and seven 6s) in 16 balls as India amassed 218 for 4. In reply, England were restricted to 200/6 giving and conceded an 18-run defeat.
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India eventually went on became World T20 champions when they defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in a thrilling final on September 24 in Johannesburg.
(With IANS inputs)
This is to all the Yuvi Fans.