Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni have gifted fans some of the greatest moments in Indian cricket while batting together. Yuvraj Singh was the non-striker when MS Dhoni hit the winning runs of the 2011 World Cup.
Four years before that, in another world event – T20 World Cup – MS Dhoni was standing at the other hand when Yuvraj Singh became the first and to date the only batsman to hit six sixes in an over in a T20I.
Yuvraj Singh Thinks MS Dhoni Was Very Happy To See Him Hit 6 Consecutive Sixes Off Stuart Broad
Almost 14 years since Yuvraj Singh hit England’s Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over, the former India all-rounder revealed how captain MS Dhoni felt standing at the non-striker’s end.
“I think MS was very happy. If you’re the captain and the other guy is just hitting six after six, you’re just happy that the score is increasing and it was a must-win game,” Yuvraj told Gaurav Kapur in the ’22 Yarns’ podcast.
Yuvraj Singh had also registered the fastest T20I fifty off just 12 balls in that match, helping India stay alive in the tournament, which they later on won by beating Pakistan in the finals.
“I remember I hit two good boundaries off Flintoff which he obviously didn’t like. He said something to me and I said something back. It was quite a serious fight at that time. The umpires also came in. I just felt like I wanted to hit every ball out of the park,” Yuvraj revealed.
Yuvraj Singh featured in two World Cup wins for India (T20 World Cup in 2007 and ODI World Cup in 2011). In the 2007 T20 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh scored only 148 runs in the tournament, with two fifties. But he got those runs at a strike rate close to 195. His 12-ball half-century against England in the tournament remains the fastest fifty in international cricket as he hit 6 sixes in one over off Stuart Broad.
With 362 runs at an average of 90.5 and 15 wickets at an average of 25.13, he was a key player in India’s second ODI World Cup win 11 in 20after a hiatus of 28 years, and deservingly won the Player of the Tournament award.
Yuvraj Singh Prepared Himself For Full-Length Deliveries
The left-hander who played another blistering inning in the semi-final against Australia explained how he prepared himself for fuller lengths delivery once he hit Stuart Broad for a couple of sixes at the start of the over.
“Luckily, the first ball I hit (off Broad) went out of the park. The second ball I hit, went into the crowd. The third ball I hit over point, where I hadn’t even hit a boundary in my career. Collingwood came and told Broad to keep bowling yorkers to me outside off-stump because the off-side was big.”
“But Broad thought of bowling into my legs. So when he decided to do that, I knew he was in trouble. The fifth ball hit the toe of my bat, it was a small boundary that went over Flintoff. The sixth ball I knew he has to bowl a yorker. So I was ready to hit it straight and it was in my arc,” said Yuvraj Singh.
“My first look was to Flintoff, giving him a cheeky smile. My second look was to Dimitri Mascarenhas sort of telling him that the scores are settled and then obviously I did a fist pump with Dhoni. It actually didn’t register to me that I had hit six sixes. For me, it was all about settling the scores with England.”
Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh recalled how former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff angered him that led to the southpaw hitting six sixes off Stuart Broad during the inaugural edition of the ICC World T20 in 2007. Yuvraj Singh slammed six maximums in one Stuart Broad over during his majestic 14-ball 58 which ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides as India won the match by 18 runs.