Celebrating his 42nd birthday today, Yuvraj made his international debut in 2000 and swiftly became a crucial component of the Indian team, especially in the white-ball formats.
Renowned for his explosive batting, Yuvraj played a pivotal role in India’s success in the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup, where he was named the Player of the Tournament.
His remarkable six consecutive sixes off Stuart Broad in the inaugural T20 World Cup is etched in cricketing history.
Beyond his batting prowess, Yuvraj showcased resilience by making a triumphant comeback after successfully battling cancer. His contributions to Indian cricket have made him not only a sports icon but also an inspiration for aspiring cricketers and fans worldwide.
Here’s a statistical highlights of Yuvraj’s remarkable career:
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
# The only Indian batsman to manage an average of 50-plus against England in ODIs – his tally being 1523 runs at an average of 50.76 in 37 matches, including four hundreds and 7 fifties (minimum 1000 runs).
# Hit a 64-ball century vs England during his unbeaten innings of 138 off 78 balls, including 16 fours and six sixes, at Rajkot on November 14, 2008 – the quickest by an Indian batsman against England in ODIs.
# Amassed 1287 runs at an average of 45.96 in 33 innings in 2007, including a hundred and nine fifties – his best year in terms of run-aggregate.
# Averaged 50.06 in a winning cause in ODIs while aggregating 6008 runs, including eleven hundreds and 39 fifties, in 174 matches.
# One of the three Indian all-rounders to have posted a hundred and claimed four wickets in the same match – 118 and 4/28 vs England at Indore on November 17, 2008 – the other two being Sachin Tendulkar (vs Australia at Dhaka on October 28, 1998) and Sourav Ganguly (vs Sri Lanka at Nagpur on March 22, 1999).
# One of the nine all-rounders to have managed 8000 runs and 100 wickets in ODIs – the two other Indians being Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Yuvraj’s tally being 8701 runs (ave 36.55), 111 wickets (ave 38.68) and 94 catches in 304 matches.
ODI WORLD CUPS
# He was in India’s winning team in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka at Mumbai on April 2, 2011, capturing two wickets for 49 runs apart from scoring 21 not out off 24 balls.
# He enjoyed an outstanding record in the World Cup – his tally being 738 runs at an average of 52.71, including a hundred and seven fifies, at an impressive strike rate of 90.33 in 23 matches.
# The only all-rounder in the history of the World Cup to manage 350 runs (362 at an average of 90.50) and capture 15 wickets at 25.13 runs apiece in a single edition of the tournament.
# The only Indian all-rounder in the history of the World Cup to post a fifty and capture five wickets in an innings (50 + 5/31) – against Ireland at Bangalore on March 6, 2011.
# The first player to receive four ‘Man of the Match’ awards apart from being adjudged the ‘Player of the Tournament’ in one edition of the World Cup.
T20 INTERNATIONALS
# Holds a T20 world Cup record for posting the fastest fifty, taking just 12 balls to accomplish the feat against England at Kingsmead, Durban, on September 19, 2007.
# Only batsman to hit six successive sixes in one over in the T20 World Cup – off Stuart Broad (England) at Durban on September 19, 2007.
# He was in the winning team in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 against Pakistan at Johannesburg on September 24, 2007.
TESTS
# All his three hundreds were recorded by him vs Pakistan – one each at Lahore (112 in 2004), Karachi (122 in 2006) and Bengaluru (169 in 2007).
# Recorded an impressive average against Pakistan in Tests – 572 in nine innings, including three hundreds and a fifty, at an average of 63.55.
# In his last ten Tests (15 innings), he had managed just 378 runs at an average of 34.20, including three fifties.
# His top three innings in a winning cause were – 85 not out vs England at Chennai in December 2008; 77 not out at Delhi and 75 at Ahmedabad, both vs Sri Lanka in December 2005.
(Stats Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar)