By: K. Gautam
Being hit for a six makes most bowlers feel silly, especially in limited-overs matches. Being smashed for 6 sixes in an over would probably make a bowler wonder why he ever took up the game - or worse wish he were never born. We will have to get into Stuart Broad’s psyche to know exactly what is going through him.
Yuvraj Singh must have said to himself, “I was made to look silly in the last few days, with batsmen clobbering me for sixes. It is my turn to make someone else look sillier.” Poor, young Stuart Broad had to bear the brunt of his fury.
History
Yuvraj thus became the first player to accomplish this feat against a test playing nation, the second player after Herschelle Gibbs against an international team (2007 world cup against the Netherlands), and the 4th player ever in top cricket (the other two being Gary Sobers and Ravi Shastri in first-class matches).
It was also the first time a fast bowler has been hit for 6 sixes in an over. The other unfortunate victims, Malcolm Nash (left-arm spinner by Gary Sobers), Raj Tilak (left-arm spinner by Ravi Shastri), Daan Van Bunge (leg-spinner by Herschelle Gibbs) were all spinners.
Yuvraj’s 12-ball 50 is also the fastest in 20/20 cricket.
Early Onslaught
Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir started from where they left off against New Zealand, laying a good platform for India. Dimitri Mascarenhas’ dropped sitter of Sehwag proved to be a costly one for England, as India went on the rampage and posed a huge total of 218/4.
Though India won quite comfortably, not everything is hunky-dory with the Indian bowling. Ajith Agarkar’s replacement, the inexperienced Joginder Sharma gave away too many runs. Sreesanth’s inconsistency is still a concern.
Hope Piyush Chawla recovers on time before the make or break game against South Africa, as they have always struggled against a quality leggie. Though it is a 20/20, having two spinners (with Harbhajan) is worth the gamble.
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