When a Sourav Ganguly prank gave debutant Yuvraj Singh sleepless night | Cricket News – Times of India
MUMBAI: Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has revealed how his then skipper Sourav Ganguly spooked him so much by pulling a prank the night before his debut at the 2000 ICC Knockout tournament that he could not sleep the whole night.
An 18-year-old Yuvraj dominated the Australian attack led by the likes of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee as his 80-ball 84, filled with superb drives and flicks, led India to 265/9. The score proved too much for the Australians as they were bowled out for 245, with India winning the ICC Knockout quarterfinal in Nairobi on October 7, 2000.
On the night before the clash, Ganguly asked Yuvraj if he would open in the all-important match the next day.
“Yeah, if you want me to open, I’ll open,” Yuvraj told his skipper. But in a conversation on Home of Heroes, Sports18, Yuvraj conceded he couldn’t sleep that night.
“The whole night I didn’t sleep,” revealed Yuvraj.
On the morning of the match, the captain confessed to pulling a fast one and opened the innings himself.
“I was batting at No. 5, very nervous. But when I went in to bat, focus turned to watching the ball,” recollected Yuvraj.
But the day was meant to be Yuvraj’s as he was dropped on 37.
“If I would have scored 37 on my debut against Australia, I would have been very happy because of the attack that I was facing,” said Yuvraj.
“Luckily, I went on to score 84, I don’t know how, just watched the ball, hit the ball. It was a very big moment for me, to beat Australia and get the Man-of-the-Match award,” said Yuvraj, who remembers the importance of running out Michael Bevan.
After impressing with the bat, Yuvraj showed his fielding prowess as well, as he flung himself to pluck a stunner, sending pinch-hitter Ian Harvey back, but the direct hit to run out Bevan sealed Australia’s fate.
An 18-year-old Yuvraj dominated the Australian attack led by the likes of Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee as his 80-ball 84, filled with superb drives and flicks, led India to 265/9. The score proved too much for the Australians as they were bowled out for 245, with India winning the ICC Knockout quarterfinal in Nairobi on October 7, 2000.
On the night before the clash, Ganguly asked Yuvraj if he would open in the all-important match the next day.
“Yeah, if you want me to open, I’ll open,” Yuvraj told his skipper. But in a conversation on Home of Heroes, Sports18, Yuvraj conceded he couldn’t sleep that night.
“The whole night I didn’t sleep,” revealed Yuvraj.
On the morning of the match, the captain confessed to pulling a fast one and opened the innings himself.
“I was batting at No. 5, very nervous. But when I went in to bat, focus turned to watching the ball,” recollected Yuvraj.
But the day was meant to be Yuvraj’s as he was dropped on 37.
“If I would have scored 37 on my debut against Australia, I would have been very happy because of the attack that I was facing,” said Yuvraj.
“Luckily, I went on to score 84, I don’t know how, just watched the ball, hit the ball. It was a very big moment for me, to beat Australia and get the Man-of-the-Match award,” said Yuvraj, who remembers the importance of running out Michael Bevan.
After impressing with the bat, Yuvraj showed his fielding prowess as well, as he flung himself to pluck a stunner, sending pinch-hitter Ian Harvey back, but the direct hit to run out Bevan sealed Australia’s fate.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsUpdate is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
