Captain of Bhangra Posted May 10, 2011 Posted May 10, 2011 Yuvraj Singh strode out to the crease at the end of the 12th over, with India looking down the barrel. They were 64/3, having been set 304 by Pakistan to level the 6 match series. He joined MS Dhoni, who was on 11 from 10 balls. In MS Dhoni's 9th match, their 9th ODI together, this was the very first time they'd shared the crease. Amazingly, by this time, Yuvi was racking up his 117th appearance in blue. So they set about the task facing them. India had taken a 2-0 lead, Dhoni had announced himself to the World in the second of those, with an impressive 148 off 123 balls. The situation was different now, having lost 3 in a row, and the series slipping away. They lasted together for just under 6 overs and 20 runs, before Yuvraj's run out for 13. Just over 2 overs later, Dhoni rejoined him. 93/5 eventually became 144/10, as the crowd voiced their displeasure, and Pakistan completed a 4-2 comeback series win... 10 months later. 19th February 2006. Karachi. In Pakistan's fortress, redemption and hope of something huge in the pipeline was restored. Dhoni (35 matches) was by now a fixture in Team India. Yuvraj (142 matches) was in incredible form. Chasing 287, they were paired up when Dravid fell in the 30th over. As I recall, myself and fellow ICFers were relieved to see the Wall's go-slow ended. From 141-2, no further wickets fell, as Yuvraj fought cramp to reach his hundred, and India won with 3 overs to spare. Dhoni (77*), helped Yuvi off with the series won 4-1. This was an exciting period for India in ODIs. The team had crashed down to earth in early 2005, after the highs of the 2003 World Cup, but with an injection of new blood, the likes of Raina and Gambhir, along with Dhoni, things were looking up throughout 2006... a further 13 months later, 17th March 2007. It proved to be a false dawn. Aside from an empty World Record World Cup total against Bermuda, the World Cup was a nightmare. Many in the know had tipped India to be a major force, based on form leading up to the tournament, but a shock opening loss to Bangladesh, and a Cricket lesson from Sri Lanka, put paid to that. Safe to say, Yuvraj didn't enjoy his second crack at the tournament. Dhoni had his first taste of a World Cup, a bitter one... In between 2007 & 2011, India's ODI form was at times brilliant, at times lacking. MS Dhoni had now earned the captaincy, and had shown his nous in winning T20 tournaments internationally, and domestically, but that was a different ball game. It had, however served to put new options in the shop window. New players such as Kohli raised their hands, while the likes of Dravid disappeared. Again, India were huge favourites. So, one has to ask. On that day in April 2005, when these 2 reunited in the pavillion after their first partnership. Could they possibly have dreamed that in 15 days short of 6 years time (157 caps later for Yuvraj, 177 caps later for Dhoni), one of them would be the skipper, finishing off a 28 year World Cup wait with a 6, while the other would be at the non-striker's end, as Man of the Tournament?...
Sid Posted May 10, 2011 Posted May 10, 2011 Great one C.O.B MSD and Yuvi,two of our greatest ODI players.Finished a lot of games and special mention to their 100 partnerships in winning causes against the Pak :ohyeah:
Captain of Bhangra Posted May 10, 2011 Author Posted May 10, 2011 This is more like a fairytale story. Of course these 2 alone can't take the credit, when aided by the greatest batsman in history, the Zak-Attack, and other key contributing players!...
WC2011INDIA Posted May 10, 2011 Posted May 10, 2011 Where can I watch the highlights of this match? Is it available on youtube? Let me know. Thanks
Ultimate_Game Posted May 11, 2011 Posted May 11, 2011 Yuvi and Dhoni have been Architects of some of the biggest wins in the recent times. They were the main players responsible for winning the T20 cup and then the real World Cup And as for Yuvraj the guy has even won the u 19 world cup! What a winner that guy is!
Params7 Posted May 11, 2011 Posted May 11, 2011 Awesome article. Fantastic and uplifting read through. Long live Dhoni/Yuvi partnership.
WC2011INDIA Posted May 11, 2011 Posted May 11, 2011 Can anyone post or send me highlights for this match, please?
rkt.india Posted May 11, 2011 Posted May 11, 2011 ek galti hai ...148 runs were in 123 balls not 155 balls...correct it...otherwise good...
Sachinism Posted May 11, 2011 Posted May 11, 2011 Yes the original finishers. Loved those series' vs Pakistan, when MS and Yuvi got together, no matter what the target, you felt comfortable they'd take it home Great write-up C.O.B.
Karan114 Posted May 11, 2011 Posted May 11, 2011 Great stuff COB...really, what an amazing journey they've had.
Ultimate_Game Posted May 11, 2011 Posted May 11, 2011 How times change! There was a time in 90s when India couldn't chase at all and once Tendulkar fell the game used to be pretty much over. And now we hold the record for maximun no. of consecutive chases in odis and have chased high totals in Tests as well. In fact I don't worry at all whether we are chasing or batting first as I know someone will step up and win us the game As an Indian cricket fan who mostly started following cricket in 90s what a welcome change it has been and all I can say is that it has been worth the wait... we finally have a team which Indian fans deserve
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now