Yuvraj Singh-Ashish Nehra brilliance: A ’90s kid’s nostalgia

No word can explain the feeling of a 90s born kid when they see a Yuvraj hit a six over long-on. No word can describe the pleasure a 90s born kid gets when Nehra gets his ball through to remove the stumps.

Much has been said about the fact that the ninth season of Indian Premier League (IPL) has failed to live up to the expectations of the Indian cricket fans. The mass awaits for the engaging Twenty20 (T20) contest every year, but this time, the scenario has been different. IPL had already received a setback as it was the first season without two of its biggest franchises, Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The teams were banned for two years and its players distributed in to two new teams but attachment is something which cannot be grown overnight. More salt to the wound, big names like Steven Smith, Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis, Samuel Badree, Mitchell Starc and others pulled out of the tournament due to injuries. The cherry topping was the overdose of IPL, majorly for the viewers of the sub-continent, as they had already witnessed Asia Cup 2016 and the gala of ICC World T20 2016 already. FULL SCORECARD: Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016, Match 37 at Visakhapatnam

One of the very few points that still had the viewers watching the contest was the fact that they could see their favourites who have retired from international cricket or are not the regular member of the national squad; Or maybe, to look at the players who have not been in the best of their forms, with a hope that they will shine and make a comeback, like the older times when they were at their supreme.

Born in the 90s in India, there are very few people who do not like Yuvraj Singh. The elegant all-rounder, during his prime, used to be the go-to man for Indian skippers. Making his debut in the year 2000, Yuvraj slowly and steadily became the name the nation looked up to during a crisis and what made his success more valuable is the fact that he was enjoying his best time while a legend was in the circuit – Sachin Tendulkar.

Yuvraj enjoyed a massive fan-following throughout the first half of his career and for all the right reasons. There was nothing that could go wrong; India won the world cup and Yuvraj got what can be called the superlative, Man of the Tournament of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. And then, cancer happened to him.

For a player, who was at the peak of his career, it takes a lot to gather himself from almost scratches and grow once again. Cancer affected Yuvraj’s natural self and he evolved to a new player altogether. The one, who was known to utilise lesser balls and play quick-fire innings, had started taking up more time and it started affecting his strike rate. What hurt was Yuvraj’s innings in the ICC World T20 2014 final match against Sri Lanka, where Yuvraj faced 21 balls in a Twenty20 International (T20I) match to score a mere 11. But something hurt them more, the fact that one innings had turned people furious to throw stones at his residence.

If it was cancer for Yuvraj, for Ashish Nehra, it was injuries. The bowler, who was the backbone of India’s pace attack at the turn of millenium briefly, could never enjoy a longer stretch in the circuit, thanks to the number of times he had been sidelined due to his injuries. Nehra was one of the main factors behind India’s brilliant campaign in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. The tournament changed Team India’s stature as a team and gave them many talented players to carry forward the legacy.

Two World Cups, two stars found themselves atop success and faced many hardships in the following years, but, not due to their form. It is their physical condition that compelled them to go off color. IPL was the platform where they could not be stopped. It is the place they could prove the cliche- form is temporary, but class, after all, is permanent.

The IPL 2016 Match 37 remained a treat for the 90s kids. It was like a deja vu, like looking at the 2000s, a batsman who was back to his usual batting style and a bowler to sum it up with a nearly flawless action. Yuvraj’s innings in the match, though of just 39 runs, is of importance for many reasons. The batsman showed a strong backhand and looked in much more ease to play his signature shots. Yuvraj’s footwork also looked better than his most recent appearance and the fact that he played the balls a lot more sensibly are among the many positives. Yuvraj hit 3 boundaries and a couple of huge sixes, utilising just 23 balls. He changed the momentum of the game and brought in confidence to his camp, like he used to do during his prime.

Nehra has become a classic example of unbelievable comeback and is getting better day by day. Though the bowler’s job has been appreciated throughout this cricketing season, his spell in the particular match was something close to perfection. He could read the mind of batsmen, and had the length just right. He knew while he was experimenting and when he went for a boundary, knew how to correct it straight away on the next ball. The entire effort resulted in 3 wickets for 15 runs in his three overs, with an economy of 5.00. He came into attack and got the big man Rohit Sharma bowled off the first ball, giving just a boundary in that over while his third over saw just a solitary run coming.

No words can explain the feeling of a 90’s born kid when they see a Yuvraj hit a six over long-on. No word can describe the pleasure a 90’s born kid gets when Nehra gets his ball through to remove the stumps.

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)

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