October 7, 2000, Nairobi
I was out at a relatives place when India was taking on Australia in the 1st QF of the Champions trophy. Had it been with any other team other than Australia I would not have stepped out of my home. I had even bunked school faking illness to see India play. But that day the game was against Aussies, the world champions.
There was a mixture of trepidation and awe that team of Australia brought to the cricket field.
Gillespie, Lee and McGrath with the ball.
Gilly, Ponting and Bevan with the bat.
No one stood a chance.They were close to invincibles.
They won the games and tournaments before any games were played.
No one could beat them on the paper and in the ground.
They had to play real bad or the opponents had to play real great to win a match against them.
I came back home at the time when the first innings was over.
I was surprised seeing the score.
India - 265/9 - 265 then was as much as 320 these days or may be more. I thought this must have been another one hell of a Sachin's innings that got us here. To my surprise it was not from Sachin but from the new kid in the team who just made his debut few days back and didn't get a chance to bat. He was a tall lanky fair and good looking southpaw named Yuvraj Singh. He had a score of 84 from 80 balls and the confidence of a fearless kid who was going to take over the next decade of the game in its balls.
A middle order batsman scoring runs for India in those years were unheard off. A batsman sticking up to the mighty Aussies was not normal and that too from a young Indian debut-ant was just utterly unbelievable.
I watched the highlights in the innings break. There was an audacious on drive off Glen McGrath's bowling to reach to his 50, a magnificent pickup shot off Harvey's gentle medium pace.This was new to us the young cricket fans. I was just 10 and I was in awe. And to add to all that he was just an 18 year old kid. We had an another hero to look up to. Someone who was not awed by the atmosphere of the high pressure knock out game against the mighty mighty Aussies. Someone who was not fazed by the billion dreams back home hoping for a miracle.
There we got answer to the questions of whether we will ever be a team to be reckoned with in the cricketing world. We have a got a new star, a new hero said the little hopeful heart of mine.
He was not living up to the billing in the subsequent matches. There were games where he will be the lone battler when everyone around him took a walk back and there were games where he was nothing but someone who turned out to fill the squad.
There were few unbelievable catches like the three in one match against the South African's which Johnty might have seen from duck out and felt proud off. There were flashes of brilliant run outs and few wickets here and there with the ball in hand. A Pie- Chucker like how KP likes to call him. And there were few flashes of brilliant innings like the one against England in Natwest final or guiding the team home against Pakistan in WC 2003.
September 22, 2007, Durban
India went into this new future of the world cricket called T20 WC under a new captain without Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly. India was just out from the memories of the early exit from the WC 2007 despite having the legends.
India had played only one T20 before the tournament had started. India had no experience in the format. India had none of their experienced legends in the squad. India didn't have Dada to captain. No one gave India the chance to win the tournament.
When no one gave a chance was exactly the stage setup for the likes of Yuvraj Singh to stand up and prove them all wrong. I guess performing against all the odds give the most satisfying orgasm for sportsman like Yuvraj.
He was fresh from raping Stuart Broad and registering the quickest 50 runs by any player in any format of the game in the planet thereby guiding the Indian team to the Semi Finals of the World T20. A tournament so alien to the Indian team. The tournament where no one gave any chance to the Indian team. And the clash was against the WC 2007 champions Australia.
Lee, Bracken and Johnson with the ball.
Gilly, Hayden and Symonds with the bat.
They breezed past their opponents to the semi final. Like always they had an invincibility around them. No one stood a chance to win against them.
The stage was set perfectly for new heroes to emerge. The stage was set for men like Yuvraj to relish and oh boy did he enjoy it? Of course he did.
India were 41/2 in 8 overs when he came into bat. There was a slip fielder on the 9th over of a T20 game to a batsman who scored at will on the same ground ,few days back. That's the audacity of the Aussies.
First up the ball had beaten his outside edge. The batsman who had registered the quickest half century in the same ground few days back was beaten on the first ball of his new innings. I thought may be playing against the Australian's had got up with him. May be this was just another day in the knock out games for the Aussies,I thought.
Stuart Clark goes back to his mark. Stuart Clark the tall medium paced Aussie started his run up. Slowly gently and in a most lazy way he approached the crease and bowled a bouncer at mid 130 kmph that sits up in the ground.
Yuvraj stood tall, eyes on the ball, swivel on the hips and pulls it for the maximum. Off she goes and Yuvraj begins from where he left,sounds the commentator on air.
What happened in the next few mins of him batting against the Aussies and their mightiness was beyond description.
He flicked one off the pad for an 119m six of a Brett Lee delivery bowled at 147kmph. When they bowled wide he took them for maximum in the off side. When they bowled close he took them for maximum over mid wicket. Size of boundaries weren't big enough for him that day. The ball kept flying for six. Aussies looked concerned. What sight to witness!!! A concerned look of an Aussie cricket team and their fans in a WC match.
There was a sheer audacity in the shots. There was an aura of him telling the world I own this game, I own this match, I own this ground, I own this tournament and I own you Aussies.
He scored 70 of the most audacious runs I had witnessed in my time watching the game of cricket.
He conquered the Aussies that day. He conquered the moment that day. He won the game that day.He owned the inaugural T20 WC tournament.India won the tournament.
March 24, 2011- Ahmedabad
A last hurrah at a World Cup tournament for one of the greatest batsman who have ever played the game. No matter the Hundred 100s, no matter the 1000s and 1000s of runs he scored, the feeling of not winning a world cup might haunt him for the rest of his life. He on more than few occasions was vocal about what a world cup win means to him. And so are the 1.2 billion people who were hosting the grandest tournament of the cricketing fraternity. They want another taste of a world cup triumph.
Indian team was on course to the title. They were not the favorites to win the tournament. No experts were expecting them to win but there were billions hoping for an India win.
They had their QF clash set against the 4 time champions and the champions of the last 3 editions of the tournament. The mighty Aussies.
Lee, Tait and Johnson with the ball.
I was out at a relatives place when India was taking on Australia in the 1st QF of the Champions trophy. Had it been with any other team other than Australia I would not have stepped out of my home. I had even bunked school faking illness to see India play. But that day the game was against Aussies, the world champions.
There was a mixture of trepidation and awe that team of Australia brought to the cricket field.
Gillespie, Lee and McGrath with the ball.
Gilly, Ponting and Bevan with the bat.
No one stood a chance.They were close to invincibles.
They won the games and tournaments before any games were played.
No one could beat them on the paper and in the ground.
They had to play real bad or the opponents had to play real great to win a match against them.
I came back home at the time when the first innings was over.
I was surprised seeing the score.
India - 265/9 - 265 then was as much as 320 these days or may be more. I thought this must have been another one hell of a Sachin's innings that got us here. To my surprise it was not from Sachin but from the new kid in the team who just made his debut few days back and didn't get a chance to bat. He was a tall lanky fair and good looking southpaw named Yuvraj Singh. He had a score of 84 from 80 balls and the confidence of a fearless kid who was going to take over the next decade of the game in its balls.
A middle order batsman scoring runs for India in those years were unheard off. A batsman sticking up to the mighty Aussies was not normal and that too from a young Indian debut-ant was just utterly unbelievable.
I watched the highlights in the innings break. There was an audacious on drive off Glen McGrath's bowling to reach to his 50, a magnificent pickup shot off Harvey's gentle medium pace.This was new to us the young cricket fans. I was just 10 and I was in awe. And to add to all that he was just an 18 year old kid. We had an another hero to look up to. Someone who was not awed by the atmosphere of the high pressure knock out game against the mighty mighty Aussies. Someone who was not fazed by the billion dreams back home hoping for a miracle.
There we got answer to the questions of whether we will ever be a team to be reckoned with in the cricketing world. We have a got a new star, a new hero said the little hopeful heart of mine.
He was not living up to the billing in the subsequent matches. There were games where he will be the lone battler when everyone around him took a walk back and there were games where he was nothing but someone who turned out to fill the squad.
There were few unbelievable catches like the three in one match against the South African's which Johnty might have seen from duck out and felt proud off. There were flashes of brilliant run outs and few wickets here and there with the ball in hand. A Pie- Chucker like how KP likes to call him. And there were few flashes of brilliant innings like the one against England in Natwest final or guiding the team home against Pakistan in WC 2003.
September 22, 2007, Durban
India went into this new future of the world cricket called T20 WC under a new captain without Sachin, Dravid and Ganguly. India was just out from the memories of the early exit from the WC 2007 despite having the legends.
India had played only one T20 before the tournament had started. India had no experience in the format. India had none of their experienced legends in the squad. India didn't have Dada to captain. No one gave India the chance to win the tournament.
When no one gave a chance was exactly the stage setup for the likes of Yuvraj Singh to stand up and prove them all wrong. I guess performing against all the odds give the most satisfying orgasm for sportsman like Yuvraj.
He was fresh from raping Stuart Broad and registering the quickest 50 runs by any player in any format of the game in the planet thereby guiding the Indian team to the Semi Finals of the World T20. A tournament so alien to the Indian team. The tournament where no one gave any chance to the Indian team. And the clash was against the WC 2007 champions Australia.
Lee, Bracken and Johnson with the ball.
Gilly, Hayden and Symonds with the bat.
They breezed past their opponents to the semi final. Like always they had an invincibility around them. No one stood a chance to win against them.
The stage was set perfectly for new heroes to emerge. The stage was set for men like Yuvraj to relish and oh boy did he enjoy it? Of course he did.
India were 41/2 in 8 overs when he came into bat. There was a slip fielder on the 9th over of a T20 game to a batsman who scored at will on the same ground ,few days back. That's the audacity of the Aussies.
First up the ball had beaten his outside edge. The batsman who had registered the quickest half century in the same ground few days back was beaten on the first ball of his new innings. I thought may be playing against the Australian's had got up with him. May be this was just another day in the knock out games for the Aussies,I thought.
Stuart Clark goes back to his mark. Stuart Clark the tall medium paced Aussie started his run up. Slowly gently and in a most lazy way he approached the crease and bowled a bouncer at mid 130 kmph that sits up in the ground.
Yuvraj stood tall, eyes on the ball, swivel on the hips and pulls it for the maximum. Off she goes and Yuvraj begins from where he left,sounds the commentator on air.
What happened in the next few mins of him batting against the Aussies and their mightiness was beyond description.
He flicked one off the pad for an 119m six of a Brett Lee delivery bowled at 147kmph. When they bowled wide he took them for maximum in the off side. When they bowled close he took them for maximum over mid wicket. Size of boundaries weren't big enough for him that day. The ball kept flying for six. Aussies looked concerned. What sight to witness!!! A concerned look of an Aussie cricket team and their fans in a WC match.
There was a sheer audacity in the shots. There was an aura of him telling the world I own this game, I own this match, I own this ground, I own this tournament and I own you Aussies.
He scored 70 of the most audacious runs I had witnessed in my time watching the game of cricket.
He conquered the Aussies that day. He conquered the moment that day. He won the game that day.He owned the inaugural T20 WC tournament.India won the tournament.
March 24, 2011- Ahmedabad
A last hurrah at a World Cup tournament for one of the greatest batsman who have ever played the game. No matter the Hundred 100s, no matter the 1000s and 1000s of runs he scored, the feeling of not winning a world cup might haunt him for the rest of his life. He on more than few occasions was vocal about what a world cup win means to him. And so are the 1.2 billion people who were hosting the grandest tournament of the cricketing fraternity. They want another taste of a world cup triumph.
Indian team was on course to the title. They were not the favorites to win the tournament. No experts were expecting them to win but there were billions hoping for an India win.
They had their QF clash set against the 4 time champions and the champions of the last 3 editions of the tournament. The mighty Aussies.
Lee, Tait and Johnson with the ball.
Ponting , Gilly and Watson with the bat.
The game was always billed as Australia's to lose. India needed a miracle to win the match. Whoever wins that match was tipped to win the WC.
Australia won the toss. Elected to bat.
Watson and Haddin at the crease. The mighty Australians begun well.
Watson gone. Ponting who scored 140 to bat India out of their 2003 WC final walked in. He looked he was ready to bat them out again. Haddin was being aggressive. Haddin got to his 50. Ponting looked in great touch. They were taking the game away. They have made 70 runs together. Memories of 2003 final in every ones mind.
Dhoni had trusted Yuvraj with a bit of bowling the whole tournament. Yuvraj was giving him few wickets and good precious overs in the middle.
With thecthe weight of expectation of a billion people on his shoulders Yuvraj came and bowled a flighted delivery to Haddin. Haddin dove and got caught out in the covers. Yuvraj strikes. Nation erupts. Yuvraj smiles. Clarke walks in. Clark shows intent. Few overs later Clarke took Yuvraj on and got out caught in the deep. Yuvraj strikes again. Australia lost its momentum.
India looked like they will be chasing in excess of 280 at one stage ended up chasing 260. Thanks to Yuvraj Singh's strikes at the right time.
Despite being 20 runs short the world knows Aussies are going to come hard at the hosts with all they got. Aussies don't back down at any point in the game. Aussies attack. Aussies get Sehwag out with a bouncer. After a bit of consolidation and carelessness India were struggling at 187/5 in 37.3 overs.
The last two recognized batsman in the crease. Raina and Yuvraj Singh. India needed 74 runs from 75 balls. One more wicket its curtains for the hopes of winning the WC for Sachin and the other 1.2 billion Indians.
Whats standing between Australia and victory was Yuvraj Singh. He was not young anymore. He was the glue holding this Indian team. Throughout the tournament he stepped up with bat and ball whenever India needed. India needed him most today.
Australia believed they can win it. They always believe they can win it. The world believed Australia was winning that. No one were giving the chances for India to win. Yuvraj steps up. Yuvraj scores fifty. Yuvraj hits the winning runs. Yuvraj lets a war cry out. Yuvraj celebrates. The nation celebrates. The nation rejoices. India went on to win the WC. Sachin finally had his hands on the trophy.Yuvraj went on to win the Man of the tournament.
Others win matches.
Yuvraj wins tournaments.
Life threw at him far more challenges than any opponent can threw at him in the cricket ground. Yuvraj stood up. Yuvraj fights. Yuvraj wins. If Yuvi can't then who can.
Yuvraj now has announced his retirement. I didn't know that I will be this sad hearing that. I always thought nothing can bring me the sadness equal to Sachin's retirement. I didn't give Yuvi the chance that he will leave a big void and emotions in me. Yuvi retires. Yuvi proved me wrong again.
We will never have the likes of Yuvi again. Because
Others win matches.
Only Yuvraj can win tournaments.
