Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes off Stuart Broad in 2007 was picked as one of the top 10 greatest cricket moments of the last 30 years by the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast panel, comprising former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd and host Rob Key.
However, Yuvraj’s incredible feat, which came in the 2007 T20 World Cup clash between India and England, had tough competition from another India moment from that same tournament – their winning of the event that sparked a T20 revolution in world cricket.
“I completely agree with that, about Yuvraj’s six sixes [being a moment to consider], but which one is the more defining moment – that or the final in Johannesburg?” asked Hussain. “Pakistan-India, the global audience for that, and Misbah [Ul-Haq] trying to scoop it over Sreesanth’s head.
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“India win, and the IPL was born on the back of that. I think we should have one of those two in. We can argue which one, I’m not bothered either really. I nearly had Yuvraj’s six sixes [in my list].”
Atherton, who picked Yuvraj’s sixes, still sided with his choice. “I agree, either one. But it’s quite nice to see Broady with a stiff neck,” he said.
Key argued that the fact that India winning that tournament caused a drastic shift in the nature of the game meant it needed to be considered. “You got to remember, the Indians didn’t seem to have any real interest in T20 cricket before then,” he said. “Then they won that World Cup against Pakistan, and I remember Andrew Symonds going for 1 million or whatever [in the inaugural IPL auction] … it completely changed the face of cricket as we know it.
“Even in England, I play with [Rahul] Dravid and all these people, all of a sudden, it wasn’t the most sought-after thing to be in county cricket. What do you think would have happened if India had not won, had Yuvraj not hit the six sixes, where would we be in cricket if there was no IPL?”
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Wishing Yuvraj Singh a happy retirement from international cricket ✊ pic.twitter.com/Te0duzjlA0
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) June 10, 2019
“In the end, they’d have come around to it,” said Atherton. “But that was the moment, you’re quite right, they started to get interested in T20 cricket. On the back of that T20 World Cup, the IPL came in, and of all the events in the last 30 years that we’re talking about on Sky, that is the most significant event.
“[It’s another thing altogether] whether we should have in our top 10 Brendon McCullum’s innings in the opening IPL match, from which it was quite clear this was going to be a game-changer. Because it has changed the game fundamentally, and it’ll continue to do so.”
Hussain then pressured Key to make the decision. “Rob, you’re the host, you’re the man,” he said. “If there’s any kind of debate, you’re the man. We’ve given you the options – which of those two are going to go into our final 10. The six sixes or the winning moment?”
Key said: “I think that’s slightly unfair, because I’m going to go with Athers every time – Yuvraj six sixes.”
