Yuvraj Singh’s International career in numbers

Yuvraj Singh stands out in the hearts of Indian cricket fans not only for his contributions towards the game but also by fighting against cancer and returning to the sport. The left-handed all-rounder is known for playing a crucial part in the big tournaments, especially in the World Cups which can be witnessed through his contributions during India’s victorious 2007 World T20 and 2011 Cricket World Cup campaigns.

On the occasion of Yuvraj Singh’s 36th birthday, we look at his career achievements:

1 – Yuvraj Singh is the only player to be part of the winning XI of a World Cup final (in 2011), a World T20 final (in 2007) and an Under-19 World Cup final (in 2000).

1 – Yuvraj was the first Indian to score a run, hit a four and hit a six and also the first to take a wicket in Twenty20 cricket. He appeared for Yorkshire in the 2003 Twenty20 Cup game against Derbyshire which included India’s Mohammad Kaif, the first instance of Indians featuring in a T20 match.

1 – He is the only player to score a fifty and take a 5-wicket haul in a World Cup match. He scored 50* and took 5/31 against Ireland in the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore.

2 – Yuvraj Singh became the first player in T20I cricket and only the 2nd in International cricket after Herschelle Gibbs (in CWC 2007) to hit six sixes in an over. He achieved the feat in the WT20 game against England’s Stuart Broad in 2007. England player Ross Whitley (in NatWest T20 Blast 2017) is only other to hit six sixes in an over in Twenty20 format. Gary Sobers and Ravi Shastri are the only other cricketers to hit six sixes in an over in professional cricket.

2 – Yuvraj is one of the two players to score 300+ runs and take 15+ wickets in an ODI series/tournament. He scored 362 runs and took 15 wickets in the nine matches of the 2011 CWC. Greg Chappell also did this double (686 runs & 22 wickets in 15 games) in the 1980/81 World Series Cup.

2 – Number of instances of Yuvraj with the double of a 50+ score and a 4-fer in the same ODI game. He scored 118 and took 4/28 against England in 2008 before his double in the CWC 2011. He and Sourav Ganguly are the only Indians with the 50+ and 4-fer double twice in this format. Sachin Tendulkar and Kris Srikkant done this double once each.

3 – Yuvraj is the only player to hit three fifties in 20 and fewer balls in T20I cricket. He has three of India’s four fastest fifties and four of the seven fifties by Indians coming in 25 and fewer balls in this format.

7 – Number of centuries for Yuvraj Singh while batting at No.5 and lower in ODI cricket. These are the joint most number of hundreds for any player batting at five and lower in this format. MS Dhoni also scored seven ODI centuries batting at No.5 and lower.

12 – Yuvraj’s 12-ball fifty against England in the 2007 WT20 is the fastest fifty in T20I history and also the fastest in International cricket. His fifty is the joint fastest in all Twenty20 cricket alongside Chris Gayle’s 12-ball fifty in the BBL 2015/16.

60* – Yuvraj Singh scored an unbeaten 60 and took three wickets against Sri Lanka on his 28th birthday at his home venue Mohali. This is the only instance of an Indian scoring 30+ runs and taking a 3-fer in the same T20I till date.

74 – His 74 T20I sixes are the most number of sixes by an Indian in this format. Rohit Sharma (56) is only other Indian to hit 50 T20I sixes till date.

362.5 – His strike-rate of 362.5 during his 16-ball 58 against England in WT20 2007 is the highest for any player in International cricket in a 50+ inning. Colin Munro had an S/R of 357.14 during his 14-ball fifty against Sri Lanka in 2016.