HaPPY Birthday YUVRAJ SINGH 33 !! THE MAGIC MAN: From a poster boy of Indian cricket, causing an alarming increase in female patrons and jealous boyfriends, to battling lifes hardships and being an inspiration to millions of cricket fans - Yuvraj Singhs career has been nothing short of a blockbuster. On Yuvis 33rd birthday, lets relive the Natwest Final, the Six 6s, his 2011 WC heroics and more, have a Look : India has always produced wonderful cricketers. Very few, however, fit the bill of a true cricket star. Far too much of Indian cricket is anyway shrouded behind scorecards and somewhere in that dash to succeed at the numbers game, Indian cricket fans didnt regularly get to see the style and swagger of a true cricket star. Viv Richards and Imran Khan were said to be the last of dying species. In fact, India hadnt had a serious star since Tiger Pataudi. Along came Yuvraj Singh in 2000. He was tailor- made for the spotlight. His personality, features, swagger and exuberance combined to form a heady concoction and endeared him, almost immediately, to the star-struck Indian fan. Suddenly, Indian stadiums recorded an alarming increase in female patrons and jealous boyfriends. This was even before he had played a handful of ODI games to be called a team regular. And then, with that delightful high back-lift of his, Yuvraj started tonking high-profile international bowling attacks, on the grandest of stages, with an air of nonchalance. True to his persona, Yuvrajs career panned out much like a movie script. Scene 1: A star is born After a tumultuous childhood, having to brave his parents separation, Yuvraj channelized all his energy towards cricket, after being introduced to the sport by his father and former India cricketer, Yograj Singh. He burst onto the scene in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 99/00 that India won under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif. His all-round performances, including a 58 off 25 balls against Australia in the semis, earned him the Player of the Tournament award and an immediate call to the national squad. In his first international series, the ICC Knock- Out Trophy 2000(Champions Trophy), he smashed a scintillating 84 against an Australian attack comprising Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie to give India an improbable win against the World Champions. Scene 2: The losing streak Yuvrajs next moment came in the Natwest series final against England at Lords in 2002. Chasing 326 for a win,the Indian top-order had been scuttled out for fewer than 150. In an effort that defied his age, Yuvraj, with under-19 captain Kaif for company, launched a calculated counter- attack against the English bowling. His efforts took India to their first victory in the final of an ODI tournament, since 2000, after nine consecutive defeats in finals. The remarkable circumstances of the win prompted then India skipper, Sourav Ganguly to start a celebratory jig on the hallowed Lords balcony that remains, till date, one of the most enduring memories of Indian cricket. Scene 3: A dip and then a six-fold rise Indifferent form haunted Yuvraj between 2004-2006. And then, in 2007, the spotlight turned to the showman once again. The first World Cup of the newly-introduced T20 format and Yuvraj took center stage yet again. He smashed six sixes of a Stuart Broad over to reach the fastest fifty ever in an international game. 12 balls! He became the first batsman to hit six sixes in an over in any form of international cricket against a bowler from a Test playing nation. Then, as if to prove that his effort against England wasnt a flash in the pan, in the semi-finals, he tore into the Australian bowling attack scoring 70 off just 30 balls. Thanks to his stellar performances, India won the inaugural T20 title and BCCI, who hadnt really warmed to the T20 frenzy until then, set the ball rolling for the inception of a multi-million dollar leaug league in the T20 format. Scene 4: Blood, Sweat and Tears Between 2008 and early 2010, Yuvraj endured an extended run of bad form. New talent in the Indian line-up, weight concerns and loss of form conspired against him and resulted in his expulsion from the team. By some stroke of divine intervention, he was picked in the squad for the 50-over ICC World Cup in 2011. To say that Yuvraj enjoyed a dream tournament would be a massive understatement. He scored 362 runs including one century and four fifties, took 15 wickets and won four man-of-the match awards. He was adjudged the player of the tournament as India ended their 28-year drought to become World Champions again. The star had conquered the World amidst the sweat and the tears. Then there was blood. Scene 5: The greatest victory of them all Immediately after the euphoria of the World Cup victory in 2011, Yuvraj, who had coughed blood during the tournament, was diagnosed with a stage-1 cancerous tumor in his left lung. He quickly checked into chemotherapy treatment at the Caner Research Institute in Boston, USA. After a painful procedure that lasted more than a year, Yuvraj returned to international cricket once again. The star had beaten Cancer!
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 09:34:35 +0000
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