Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh had batted at an impressive average of 44.40 against Pakistan in 55 innings across the three formats of international cricket. Without discounting on his love affair with the arch-rivals, the other team which brought the best out of the southpaw with an additional dosage of entertainment was England.
Advertisement
His stellar numbers against England in the ODI format reads 1,523 runs across 36 innings at an average and strike rate of 50.76 and 101.6 respectively. This special relationship was nothing less than love at first sight which began during NatWest Series 2002. While he returned back with dominant scores of 64* and 40* during his first two ODIs against them, his team required another special knock off his bat during his fourth innings against the very opposition.
Occasion? The iconic final match of NatWest Series 2002. With the team’s back against the wall in a 326-run chase, Yuvraj thrived and how! He played a knock which is fondly remembered as his coming of age at the highest level. Having said that, a spectacular performance might not have arrived had it not been for the English all-rounder Ronnie Irani.
During his interaction with popular Youtuber Ranveer Allahabadia around a week ago, Yuvraj revealed how a seemingly casual jibe from Irani during a point in that stiff run-chase had not only irked him, but infused some new energy within his spirits required to tame his hurt ego.
“Ronnie Irani came and started talking to me. He was like, ‘I hope you enjoyed the England tour. It was fun for you’. Tab thodi satak gayi meri. Maine kaha, ‘Yeh toh meri ego hurt kar gaya hai’ [I had lost it a bit there. I was like, ‘He’s hurt my ego here’]. Then I made up my mind and was like, ‘Let’s try and do something here’. And it just happened.”
Yuvraj Singh Had Lost Hopes Post Sachin Tendulkar’s Dismissal
Much like Indian fans present at the stadium and those watching from back home, even Yuvraj had lost all hopes of chasing down what was their highest successful run-chase in the format at the time. At a time when India lost their fifth batter in the form of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, they needed another 180 runs in 26 overs to taste victory.
“I remember during the NatWest final, I had mentally gotten out as well the moment Sachin [Tendulkar] had got out. I was like, ‘We’ve lost the game’.”
With Mohammad Kaif joining him at the crease at No. 7, Yuvraj then revealed the nervous energy which they had shared that day, while assuring each other a false sense of self-belief with respect to having a crack at the chase.
As things turned out, the duo then stitched together a match-winning 106-ball 120-run partnership for the sixth wicket. While Yuvraj (69) smashed his second half-century against England, Kaif (87*) remained unbeaten while scoring his third ODI fifty, which also earned him a maiden “Player of the Match” award at the highest level.
Once India emerged victorious and with 2 wickets and three deliveries remaining, captain Sourav Ganguly had celebrated the moment by taking his jersey off and waving it with all his might oozing a contagious energy from the Lord’s balcony.
