Yuvraj Singh hits fifty after a while; slams 80 off 57 in DY Patil T20 Cup

Yuvraj Singh had an eleventh-hour pick in the auction for this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) and might have already played his last World Cup. The 37-year-old has not played any memorable innings for Punjab in this year’s Ranji Trophy either but glimpses of one of India’s finest batting talents are still seen on occasions. On Thursday, Yuvraj reminded of his vintage touch when he belted 80 off just 57 balls for Air India in the ongoing DY Patil T20 Cup tournament in Mumbai.

The dashing left-hander’s innings came ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy followed by IPL 2019 and it would lift the confidence of Mumbai Indians – the franchise which picked Yuvraj in the dying moments of the auction last month, saving grace. Yuvraj added 51 runs with Paul Valthaty, a past IPL star, and then 88 with Sujit Nayak, to fly Air India’s total to 169 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs against Mumbai Customs.

They, however, failed to defend the score as Customs won the game in the last over losing just one wicket. Yuvraj, the man of the series of the 2011 World Cup, also bowled an over in which he conceded 12 runs.

Yuvraj’s fifty came since his 96 in Vijay Hazare Trophy in October

Yuvraj will next play for Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy starting February 21 and then there is the big one – IPL – starting in March because of the World Cup due to kick off in May. The 80 scored in DY Patil tournament is a fifty for Yuvraj in competitive cricket after some time. His last fifty (96) had come for Punjab against Railways in Vijay Hazare Trophy in early October last year.

Yuvraj was bought by the Mumbai Indians at his base price of Rs 1 crore, along with Sri Lankan veteran Lasith Malinga. The batting all-rounder, who has missed the IPL once in the past because of illness, will be making an appearance for his sixth team in the IPL this season. He played for Kings XI Punjab last year but had a poor form, scoring just 65 runs in eight games, and was released.

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