5 Performances Of Yuvraj Singh That Changed Indian Cricket Forever

International Debut during ICC Knockout 2000

Yuvraj played like a senior pro in his first ever international innings, against World Champions Australia.

After the match-fixing controversy, some senior Indian players were banned and the team had hit rock bottom as far as their performance was concerned. Not only did the team sparsely win any tournament, but they had also failed to reach any tournament final for over a year. This is when new players such as Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and wicket-keeper batsman Vijay Dahiya got a look in, all making their international cricket debut during India's first game against Kenya.

While Yuvraj got a short spell of bowling in his first match, he did not get a chance to bat as the team was chasing a fairly manageable total. In their next match - the quarterfinal against World Champions Australia - Steve Waugh put India in to bat.

India looked to get off to a flyer with Sachin Tendulkar counterattacking his old nemesis Glenn McGrath. The course of things changed after the twelfth over and by the 19th over - India's top three batsmen - Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid - were back in the pavilion.

Facing a world class bowling lineup and an opposition which included players who had all been part of a World Cup winning squad at some point in their careers - Yuvraj did not break a sweat. Batting alongside veterans Vinod Kambli and Robin Singh, Yuvraj attacked Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Shane Lee, Ian Harvey and even Steve Waugh.

Playing his first ever innings at the international level, Yuvraj reached his fifty off 47 balls even as the rest of the side was struggling. He slowed down once India lost all their recognized batsmen and decided to attack Shane Lee in the 47th over.

Without thinking of a potential century, Yuvraj top-edged one and was caught and bowled for 84 on his 80th ball. His innings included 12 top-class boundaries.

Australia got off to a decent start, but a diving catch to dismiss Ian Harvey and a brilliant direct hit to dismiss Michael Bevan broke the spine of Australia's chase. India secured a rare ICC tournament victory against Australia, and Yuvraj continued his form in the semifinal against South Africa.

A 34-ball 41 from Yuvraj after the team's slow start helped India post almost 300 runs on the board. He also dismissed the legendary Jonty Rhodes to secure his first international wicket.

A 18-run cameo in the final and a tight effort in the field and with the ball was not good enough as Chris Cairns almost single-handedly helped New Zealand win a rare ICC trophy.

A 143 runs at a strike rate of over 100 and 2 catches in the tournament while batting in tough situations was a praiseworthy performance for a newcomer. For India, Yuvraj had the best economy rate, third best batting average and the best strike rate among the batsmen in that tournament.

How it changed Indian cricket:

In his first senior international outing, he showed the potential of a true batting all rounder. Not only was he successful in decimating the world's best bowling attack, he also bowled tight spells in the middle overs, could hold diving catches and change batsmen's fortunes with direct hits to affect run outs.

Over the years, Yuvraj became a mainstay middle order batsman, a permanent at cover point and a reliable bowler during the middle over. He was very much the attacking cricketer and batting all-rounder India craved for all the while.