What did Lalit Modi gift Yuvraj Singh for hitting six sixes against England?

A couple of months ago Yuvraj Singh and the cricket fans celebrated the tenth anniversary of the six sixes he had hit against England. The left-hander achieved in a T20 International in South Africa during the inaugural edition of ICC World T20 off the bowling of Stuart Broad. It had also lit up India’s campaign in the tournament who were playing in a must-win game and eventually went on to win the tournament famously. However, it has been revealed that Lalit Modi, the first chairman and commissioner of Indian Premier League (IPL), had gifted the cricketer something after achieving the memorable feat.

The Men in Blue entered the tournament held in 2007 after losing the ODI series against England in their own backyard. Though that mattered little as the team was filled with youngsters for the World event and MS Dhoni was named the captain. Also, India had no experience of playing the T20s as compared to the other countries who came with full preparation. What followed afterwards has already been recorded in the history book and the skipper of that team is now being touted as one of the best captains in the World.

Modi kept his promise

The book ‘Democracy XI’ written by Rajdeep Sardesai another huge secret and this time is about the promise Modi made to the team after their win against Pakistan in the group stages.They had won their group game against Pakistan famously with a first-ever bowl-out in the International cricket after the match was tied. Modi was in South Africa at that time to sign the star international players for IPL and he didn’t miss out on an opportunity to meet the team.

Modi made a rather extravagant promise to the team and challenged them saying that, “Anyone who hits six sixes in an over will be given a gift of their choice.” While few team members demanded a Rolex watch, what Modi said next left everyone awestruck. He grandly announced, “I will give away a brand-new Porsche if any player achieves the feat.” Soon after a couple of games against England, Yuvraj Singh smashed Broad for 6 sixes of as many deliveries in a must-win situation. Modi kept his promise and handed over the keys of Porsche to the ‘Sixer King’.

“I call it an answer to a prayer to God. Let someone do something that no one has done. And we got six sixes in an over! It simply lit up the screens in every home. Money can’t buy that kind of thing, it just made Twenty20 cricket a must-watch,” enthused Modi as quoted in the book.