Ritesh Misra, Mumbai, 11 January 2026
Destiny led Yuvraj Singh to cricket. He was the National U-14 Roller Skating champion, and he was also a child actor in two Punjabi films. However, he was destined to be one of our most loved and popular cricketers ever. It could be anecdotal, but reportedly his father, former India player Yograj Singh, threw away his roller skating medal and sternly ordered him to concentrate on cricket. Indian and World cricket was the gainer!
One of my excellent memories of watching live cricket is enjoying a Yuvraj Singh century at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai during the 2011 World Cup. India were in a spot of bother at 51/2 on a slowish track but put up 268 mainly due to the priceless 113 by Yuvraj and 59 by Virat. Indian spinners rose to the occasion and restricted West Indies to 188 and Yuvraj chipped in with 2 wickets as well. I was watching with my 13 year-old daughter and we were just behind 3 VVIPs – cricket administrator and future Hon’ble FM Arun Jaitley sir, future BCCI President and Hon’ble Cabinet Minister Anurag Thakur sir, and lyricist Javed Akhtar sir. I distinctly remember Javed Akhtar sir and my 13 year-old daughter high-fiving each other after the fall of every West Indian wicket! It is a fond personal lifetime memory.
Today, for our Icons of India series, I recount my top 5 cricketing memories of Yuvi.
Stunning debut:- The skipper was Sourav Ganguly, the stage was the ICC knockout tournament, and the year was 2000. The opponents were World Champions Australia with one of the best bowling attacks of all times in Mcgrath, Gillespie and Brett Lee. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. The 18 year-old teenager, Yuvi, scored a match-winning 84 in 80 balls and announced his entry to the world in style.
No wonder Dada stated that here was “a young player ready for the world stage”.
Natwest Final:- England had put up a huge score of 325, aided by tons from Trescothick and Nasser Hussain. India started well with a 106 run opening stand in just 14.3 overs but then the innings fell away and India were struggling at 146/5. The stage was set for two young men – Yuvraj and Kaif – who stiched together a 121 run stand to bring India back into the game. Yuvi’s 69 and Kaif’s 87 not out ultimately won India the match.
Skipper Ganguly’s unabashed, bare-chested tee-shirt twirling, while mouthing some choice words, is also a precious lifetime memory!
Six Sixes in an over:- The venue was Durban, the opponents England, and the stage was the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. India were 155/3 with 20 balls left and most Indian fans would have been happy to end up with 185 or so. Yuvraj Singh had other ideas. He hit a 12 ball 50 which even today is the fastest International T20 50. In one over from Stuart Broad, he hit 6,6,6,6,6 and 6 and all hits were clean and powerful strikes, which will remain in our memories forever. India ended up at 218/8 and easy winners by 18 runs. India went on to win the T20 World Cup as well.
World Cup 2011:- Yuvraj was man of the series. He was man of the match in as many as 4 matches. During the tournament, he had one century and four 50s. He also picked up 15 wickets! A standout performance was against Australia in the quarter-finals. Ricky Ponting’s 104 had taken Australia to 260 and when Dhoni got out, India were 187-5 in 37.3 overs, a situation ideal for an Aussie comeback in a pressure cooker atmosphere. Yuvraj and Raina had different ideas. Raina scored a 28 ball 34 and Yuvraj’s 57 took India to the semi-finals. Yuvraj and Dhoni were together as well when the winning runs were scored in the final and India lifted the World Cup after 28 years.
Highest ODI Score:- This was against England and India were struggling at 25/3. The year was 2017. Yuvraj was no longer young, and was a cancer survivor who came back to play international cricket. Along with Dhoni, he massacred the English bowling. India reached 381 and Yuvraj had hit 150, his highest ever ODI score. What a triumph and what a return from the most dreaded disease known to man!
These are my favorite Yuvi memories. I am sure readers of The Nirvik will like them as well.
Signing off with a rare Yuvi trivia – Yuvraj is the only player in World Cup history to score a 50 and take 5 wickets in a world cup match. No one else has done so. Yuvraj did this in the match against Ireland in the World Cup, 2011.
Yuvraj, you are indeed an Icon of India!
