India vs. England Super8 match in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup was very important to India’s fortunes as it was a do-or-die match for the Indians. Indians batted first and Sehwag and Gambhir gave a splendid opening start of over 100. But even after that a score of 180 was unlikely and inadequate as well. After the opening pair, wickets fell regularly and India would’ve been extremely lucky to scrape past 180.But came the penultimate over-the 19th where Stuart Broad was to bowl to Yuvraj Singh who had just arrived at the crease. Yuvraj had been a flop in the tournament falling very cheaply in both the matches played. But after bowling the last ball of the previous over, Andrew Flintoff had provoked Yuvraj with his words and Yuvraj too retaliated before the umpire responded.
Yuvraj played the innings of his life hitting 6 sixes in the next over bowled by Stuart Broad and raced to his 50 in 12 balls-the fastest ever 50 in the history of Cricket. It was vintage hitting and poor Stuart Broad could only watch as Yuvraj’s hits cleared the ropes with absolute ease and after 5 hits, everyone was hoping that he’d make it 6 in a row and when it happened, everyone watching the match went out of breath and applauded Yuvraj wholeheartedly. It was a magnificent batting from this very talented and special cricketer. As a result, India cleared 200 with ease and reached 218. In the end, India defeated England by 18 runs to keep their semifinal hopes alive. The next match against South Africa would also be a must-win game.
Earlier in this summer, Dmitri Mascarenhas of England had clobbered five consecutive sixes in a Yuvraj over of innocuous slow leftarm. What a stage Yuvraj picked to pay back!!It was awesome and Mascarenhas could only watch the ball sail over the fence repeatedly and applauded. Kudos to Yuvraj for his blitzkrieg and a befitting reply to England. Go Yuvi go!!!I luv you so much! 🙂