Remembering 5 special performances from Yuvraj Singh on his birthday

Yuvraj Singh or 'Yuvi' as he is popularly known is perhaps one of India's most loved cricketers. When in full flow his attractive stroke play and his ability to clear the boundary at will is second to none. His athleticism on the field along with his slow left-arm spin made him an indispensable part of India's limited overs line-up for many years.

However, it was the poignant story of his successful battle against cancer, and how he managed to lead India to the World Cup triumph in spite of having a 15cm x 11cm x 13 cm giant tumour, that permanently cemented his place in the heart of every Indian cricket fan.

As this champion cricketer approaches the twilight of his cricketing career, here is a look at the most memorable moments of Yuvraj Singh's career over the years.

#5 84 vs Australia, ICC Champions Trophy (2000)

A young Yuvi made a mockery of the conditions.

An 18-year-old playing his debut innings against the World Champions Australia, who boasted of a bowling attack comprising of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee, not very ideal conditions, right? However, a young Yuvraj made a mockery of the conditions and smashed his way to scoring 84 runs. He was declared the Man of the Match as India went on to win the game to progress into the semi-finals.

After his stellar performances in the Under-19 World Cup earlier that year, he showed that he had the ability to step up and perform at the senior level too. A future star of Indian Cricket had well and truly arrived.

#4 The Natwest Trophy (2002)

Questions were raised about his commitment and focus.

Even though he began his career in a spectacular fashion, Yuvraj failed to nail down a regular spot in the playing eleven. Although there were no doubts about his natural talent, questions were raised about his commitment and focus. Then came the Natwest Trophy Final in 2002.

Chasing a mammoth 325 to win in the final, the Indians were staring down the barrel with the big guns - Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar all back in the hut and the Men in Blue still 190 runs behind. Yuvraj Singh, then, shared a match-winning partnership with Mohammad Kaif as he scored 69 runs before getting dismissed to ensure India's victory.

Although the lasting image of the Natwest Trophy is of Sourav Ganguly waving his shirt from the Lord's balcony, the foundation was laid by a superb innings played by a young Yuvraj.

#3 ICC T20 World Cup (2007)

Six sixes in an over!

By 2006 Yuvraj Singh had developed into a vital part of the Indian team. Yuvraj and MS Dhoni made the middle-order formidable. Both of them chased down huge targets with utmost ease. However, it was the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup that was the watershed moment in Yuvraj's career.

In a must-win game against England in the knockout stages, Yuvraj smashed Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in an over on his way to the fastest T20I fifty. His sixes coupled with Ravi Shashtri's epic commentary still give goosebumps to every India cricket fan. Again in the semi-final he scored a whirlwind 70 off just 30 balls against a strong Australian attack. His innings propelled India to a massive score of 188, which proved to be too much for the Aussies to chase down.

His stunning performances cemented his place in the record books as India won the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup.

#2 ICC World Cup (2011)

The World Champions!

Without a shadow of a doubt, the 2011 ICC World Cup was the crowning glory of Yuvraj's glittering career. Going into the tournament, Yuvraj Singh was not in a great run of form, but, he was determined to bring out his best on the biggest stage and that's exactly what he did. He scored 362 runs in 9 matches at an outstanding average of 90.50 with one century and four half-centuries. His low left-arm spin was equally effective with him picking up 15 wickets in the tournament, including two in the tournament finale at the Wankhede.

Yuvraj Singh was named the Player of the Tournament with India going on to win the cricket World Cup after a gap of 28 long years.

For us, Indian fans, one of the lasting images of the World Cup will always be of a tearful Yuvraj running up to his captain, as Dhoni held his pose after hitting the World Cup-winning six. A billion fans celebrated all through the night and Yuvraj was the chief architect of it.

#1 The second coming

The old Yuvi was back.

Yuvi made his comeback after recovering from cancer, but everyone felt that he was not the same player anymore. The runs were coming but the swagger of old Yuvraj was missing. It was in the second ODI against England on 19 January 2017, that Yuvi and Dhoni turned back the clock and showed the world that he was far from over.

These two came together with Team India reeling at 25-3 and stitched together a record 256-run partnership. Yuvi notched up his fourteenth ODI hundred as he smashed his way to a career-best score of 150 in just 127 balls. With the high elbow drives and powerful flicks over midwicket, the old Yuvi was back.

This was reminiscent of that famous night in Mumbai, 6 years ago when they won the World Cup for India.

Yuvraj's performance reminded everyone that he is one of the most gifted and one of the greatest ODI players India have ever had.