Yuvraj Singh scored his maiden ODI century: The former Indian all-rounder ended a 70-match long wait for an ODI century.
Advertisement
On this day in 2003, former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh ended a three-year wait to reach the three-figure mark for the first time in ODIs.
India, who were playing for the first time post the ICC Cricket World cup 2003, included two debutants in opening batsman Gautam Gambhir and seamer Aavishkar Salvi in the first match of the TVS Cup against South Africa in Dhaka.
Coming in to bat at No. 5 as captain Sourav Ganguly’s (30) replacement, Yuvraj’s maiden ODI century came in a rescue act which powered India to recovery from 172/6 to 276/10 in 49.3 overs.
Yuvraj put on display first signs of aggression against Bangladesh spinner Sanwar Hossain by hitting him down the ground for a six in the 34th over. Having hit boundaries off Alok Kapali and Mohammad Rafique, Yuvraj continued to punish the host spinners.
On the second delivery of the 43rd over, the left-hand batsman ran a single off Bangladesh seamer Tapash Baisya to complete his 13th ODI half-century. Having got his eye in, Yuvraj hit Rafique for two sixes and a four in the following over to propel India to a competitive total.
A 92-run partnership for the seventh wicket alongside Ajit Agarkar (20) played a pivotal role in the Indian innings. Despite that, Yuvraj was in a race against time to complete his century as India continued to lose wickets.
It was on the first delivery of the last over that Yuvraj hit Bangladesh all-rounder Khalel Mahmud for a four through the covers to reach his century.
Yuvraj Singh scored his maiden ODI century
Having scored 102* (85) with the help of nine fours and four sixes, the southpaw top-scored for India by a long margin.
Yuvraj, who was 21 at that time, had scored 1,529 runs in 70 ODIs at an average of 29.40 and a strike rate of 83.23 before scoring his first ODI century. Having got immense support under Ganguly, it was probably the same reason why he recently lamented lack of support under Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
For more cricket-related news, click here.
