After the nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat victory over Bangladesh, all the scenarios, permutations and combinations regarding India’s qualification to the semi-finals have been laid to rest. There is just one straightforward path which leads India to the next round, and that is beating Australia in Mohali.
If we look back in history, this is not the first time that Australia are standing in between India and a place in the next round of an ICC tournament. On numerous occasions, when the Kangaroos were India's opposition and the Men in Blue needed someone to step up and deliver at crucial times, Yuvraj Singh was the answer.
From the very beginning, the man from Chandigarh has loved facing the team from Down Under. Perhaps it’s the sledging which stirs him up or maybe the fact that the Australians had dominated the sport for so long that it pushes him to produce his utmost best against them. Though Yuvraj has not found his form in the World T20 2016 yet, there is no denying the fact that the 34-year-old can come out all guns blazing against the Aussies like he has done on some crucial occasions in the past.
ICC Knockout trophy 2000
Yuvraj’s ‘love-story’ with Australia started way back on 7 October 2000 in Nairobi, Kenya in the ICC Knockout Trophy quarter-finals. This was Yuvraj’s second match in Indian colours and his first against the mighty Australians. Steve Waugh won the toss and invited India to bat first, a decision which at first seemed perfect when the legendary Indian trio of Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid were back in the pavilion with only 90 runs on the board.
This was the first time that the southpaw was taking guard in international cricket as he did not get a chance to bat in India’s first match of the tournament against Kenya. Yuvraj, unperturbed by the might of then-ODI World Champions, smashed his way to 80-balls-84 with the help of 12 boundaries and took India to a reasonable total of 265. His innings made the difference and India went on to win the match by 20 runs.
Not to forget, Yuvraj, who earned a name for himself due to his brilliant fielding, registered his first run-out when he caught Michael Bevan short of the crease while he was trying to steer Australia towards the total.
ICC World T20 2007
Fast forward to 22 September 2007, India were up against Australia in the semi-final of the inaugural edition of the ICC World T20. Winning the toss, Dhoni opted to bat first at the Kingsmead Oval in Durban. When Yuvraj walked out to bat in the ninth over, India had just 41 runs on the board and they were in a dire need of a quickfire innings from the flamboyant Punjabi.
Yuvraj delivered exactly what was ordered, clobbering the Australian bowlers to all parts of the park en route to 30-balls-70 which included 5 fours and as many sixes. The left-hander wasted absolutely no time to get into his own as he dismissed Stuart Clark to a huge six over deep square leg on the second ball of his innings. He pounced on every chance to send the ball into the stands and led India to a commanding total of 188 runs.
Ultimately, India went on to win the match and Yuvraj was named man of the match for his fearless innings.
ICC World Cup 2011
The 2011 World Cup is something which no Indian cricket lover can ever forget. The Men in Blue had to face Australia in a crucial quarter-final tie at Ahmedabad and Ricky Ponting’s brilliant hundred helped Australia post 260 runs on the board.
India had lost Sachin, Sehwag and Kohli with 143 runs on the board when Yuvraj walked out to bat in the 29th over. Things were not very complicated and the hosts needed someone to calmly steer them towards the target. Again, Yuvraj delivered when everyone wanted him to, scoring 57 runs in 65 balls. This time as well, Yuvi wasted no time to impose himself upon the Australians and hit a boundary on the first ball he faced in the innings.
For his brilliant half-century and the two wickets he picked while bowling, Yuvraj was named man of the match and Australia suffered yet again.
Immediately after the tournament, Yuvi was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour and was forced to spent some time away from the game he loves. However, his hunger for donning the Indian blue and the prayers and love of his fans meant that the southpaw was back in the field to win matches for the team again.
ICC World T20 2014
India were clubbed with Australia in the group stages of the World T20 in Bangladesh. The Indian juggernaut crushed every team that fell on its way and the Australians got the same treatment as well. Batting first, India lost both Kohli and Rohit by the 7th over with 46 runs on the board. Yuvraj was in dismal form as in the first three matches of the tournament, he registered scores of 1 and 10 respectively against Pakistan and West Indies. In the third match against Bangladesh, he did not even get a chance to bat.
However, with Australia as the oppositions, Yuvraj left his disappointing run of form behind and smashed 60 runs in 43 balls which included 5 fours and 4 sixes. Though, this time, he took his time to get his eye in but once he got used to the conditions he blasted the Kangaroo bowlers to all parts of the park and took India to a respectable total of 159 runs.
Ravichandran Ashwin then spun his web around the Aussie batsmen as they were bundled out on mere 86 runs. However, the tournament did not turn out as Yuvraj, or for that matter Team India might have hoped for as they lost to Sri Lanka in the final and Yuvraj lost his place in the team.
It was as if nature had everything planned. Yuvraj was brought back into the Indian T20 team for the Australian tour after his commendable performances in the domestic circuit. However, the left-hander did not get to bat in the first two matches of the three-match series which India had won and sealed the series.
The Indian team had a golden chance to become the first team to clean-sweep Australians in their own backyard by winning the third T20I. Shane Watson scored a century in the first innings to power Australia to an imposing total of 197. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who were in brilliant form in the tournament started well and took India to a decent position before losing their respective wickets in a span of 25 runs.
India still needed good 50 runs to win in five overs with Suresh Raina and Yuvraj on the crease. Raina, fully aware that Yuvraj needs some time to get used to the conditions as he had not faced a single delivery on the tour, took the onus of doing the dirty work upon him. In the last two overs, the visitors needed 22 runs to win the match with Yuvraj on strike, but the southpaw managed to score just four runs in the five balls he faced in the penultimate over.
The threat of becoming the villain again was looming large but Yuvi did what he does best, tormenting the Australians. Needing 17 runs in the last over, he smashed a four and a six of the first two balls and Raina did the rest. Yuvraj was back to haunt the Australians, yet again.
Eleven matches and nine innings later, Yuvraj will once again face his favourite foes, this time in his own backyard, the PCA stadium in Mohali. The occasion is big and a place in the semi-finals is on the line. Only time will tell whether the southpaw will strike horror in the Australian ranks yet again and continue to be their tormenter-in-chief, or not.
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