Cometh the hour, cometh the man!!!!

Well, the title of this article might be very common, and might have been used very often, but the man who I am associating it with, right now, is someone who is very unique-Yuvraj Singh!

And if there is someone in Indian cricket(if not world cricket) for whom this phrase can be used most naturally, it's just got to be him. The reason why I choose him as the man for the hour is the fact that he has played some of the most unbelievable and amazing innings in the most testing of situations in the biggest of tournaments for India. And to prove the point further, featured below is a list of some of the most crucial innings of Yuvraj's career in One-dayers, Twenty20's and at the highest level of the game as well(as of 11th July, 2011).

(1) 84 v Australia at Nairobi(Gym) on 7 October 2000(1st Quarter Final-ICC Knockout 2000-ODI): Coming out to bat for the first time ever at the international level, that too against the world champions in a quarter final of one of cricket's biggest tournaments, with India having lost the big three-Sourav, Sachin and Rahul-with just 90 on the board, young Yuvi grabbed this opportunity hands on. Smashing the ball to all parts of the ground, the way he constructed his innings, did not, for a moment suggest that this was his first innings at the world stage. A strokeful innings containing twelve boundaries was almost the dream start any cricketer would have wanted in such a situation, and had he got to a hundred, which he was not very far away from, he could not have asked for more. But nevertheless, this established his place in India's batting line-up straightaway, and showcased his talent in front of the world. The end result-India winning the match, and going through to the semis.
(2) 69 v England at Lord's on 13 July 2002(Final-Natwest Series 2002-ODI): When he came out to bat, Indian supporters were not really expecting a lot from him, and all eyes were on the other end, where their last hope, Sachin Tendulkar, was trying to get India out of the mess they found themselves in, after a disastrous middle-order collapse. But when Sachin was gone, in the space of 16 runs, most Indians would have lost all hope, and surrendered to the fact that India was going to loose yet another final, in front of a packed Lord's crowd, where India had historically defeated West Indies in the World Cup final nineteen years ago. But Yuvraj at no.6, and Kaif, at no.7, had another plans. They carried on from where Sourav and Sehwag had left, and made sure that the required rate, while chasing what was then the second-highest target ever achieved, was never out of reach. A mistimed paddle-sweep off Collingwood, after a 121-run partnership with Mohammed Kaif, was something that Yuvraj rued for a long time, and breathed only when India were through at the end, and Sourav Ganguly a.k.a. Dada, had already taken his shirt off(a perfect response to what Flintoff did at Wankhede at the end of the bilateral series at the start of the year), and waved it all around the Lord's balcony.
(3) 58 v England at Durban on 19 September 2007(21st Match, Group E-ICC World T20 2007): More than anything else, this match would always be remembered for Yuvraj's six sixes off the penultimate over of India's innings, bowled by Stuart Broad. Not only was it a world record, but also made sure that India got a score well above 200, and batted England out of the game. This was a turning point in India's journey through the inaugral Twenty20 World Cup, and things turned India's way indeed afterwards, and gave India's batting and energy the necessary momentum they needed to beat big sides in big matches further on in the tournament.
(4) 70 v Australia at Durban on 22 September 2007(2nd Semi Final-ICC World T20 2007): With the form the world-renowned opening partnership of Gilchrist-Hayden was in the tournament, India had to score a more-than challenging total on a batting paradise(of course, there was good amount of movement and bounce on the surface) at Durban. And with India at 60 for 2 after the first ten overs, Yuvraj was the only man who could make that possible, and he did respond, and what a response-70 off just 29 balls, smashing Brett Lee and company all around, he was looking to smash the thirtieth ball out of the ground as well, but hold out to Michael Hussey in the deep, but with the help of some sensible hitting with Dhoni at the end, took India to what proved to be a match-winning total of 188, even with Haydos carrying on with his smashing form.
(5) 169 v Pakistan at Bangalore(1st Innings) from 8-12 Dec 2007(3rd Test-Pak tour of India, 2007-08): India had not won a test series at home against Pakistan in 28 years, but good work in the first two tests from Kumble and company had created a good chance to clinch this series, and saving the last test would have been good enough. With Sachin and Dhoni not available for the last test, Yuvraj and Dinesh Karthik came is an replacements in the batting order. With India batting first on a December sunday morning, Yasir Arafat on his test debut, along with help from in-and-out of the side Mohammed Sami, had reduced India to 61 for 4, with Sourav, who was in cracking form in the series, at the other end, to assist Yuvraj, who was playing a test match after a long time, but in stunning limited-overs form in the meanwhile. And this would have been one of the reasons that helped him counter-attack, and what a counter-attack this proved to be. A three-hundred run partnership, in which Yuvraj played some really stunning shots, one of the highlights being a backfoot-punch way over mid-off, and as always, there were no signs of nerves. Though he missed out on a chance to capatalize in the second innings on his birthday, thanks to a miserable caught-behind decision, his two wickets, alongside Kumble's five towards the end of the day, encouraged thoughts of a possible 2-0 series win, but even bad light, that eventually resulted in a draw, ensured India finally beat Pakistan at home with a series win after a long draught.
(6) 85* v England at Chennai(2nd Innings) from 11-15 Dec 2008(1st Test-Eng tour of India, 2008-09): After two-three weeks of nightmare, following terrorist attacks in Mumbai the preceding month, cricket was finally back. And Sourav's retirement after the Australia series, finally offered Yuvraj a chance to cement his place in the test side. After failing in the first innings, a judicious declaration by England in the second innings, asking India to chase a record target of 387 at home, followed by a smashing start given by Sehwag in India's second innings, and the fourth wicket falling with the score at 224, gave Yuvraj the perfect platform to show his test-match skills, and he did just that, and would have easily scored his hundred, because at one stage, when he was already eighty-something, he was ahead of Sachin's score. But he decided to underplay at that stage, playing solid forward defence, and allowing his senior partner to get to a hundred, as well as the winning runs, which would act as a double-tribute to Mumbai, where the great Mr. Tendulkar hails from.
(7) 60* v Sri Lanka at Mohali on 12 December 2009(2nd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of India-2009-10): This innings might not be of great significance from a tournament perspective, but historically, this is to-date, the highest target achieved in T20 international's. And an all-round performance, with three wickets while bowling first to Sri Lanka, on his home ground, and that too, on his 28th birthday, and a man-of-the-match award, was just icing on the cake. Considering the fact that those sixty runs came off just 25 balls, clearly suggests that the birthday boy was in the party mood, and was not holding back one bit.
(8) 57* v Australia at Ahmedabad on 24 March 2011(2nd Quarter Final-ICC World Cup 2011): Well, I would rate this one above all of his previous innings, and even the ones mentioned above. Because this came in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, against the World Champions, who had won the previous three world cups alongwith the 1987 win in the subcontinent to make it four, and were looking pretty much on course to make it five, with India at 187 for five, while chasing a target of 261. With Dhoni gone, the equation was pretty straight forward-74 runs needed off 75 balls, and at the other end was Suresh Raina-Dhoni's big gamble at such a crucial stage of the tournament. Mitchell Johnson was bowling good lines to Yuvraj, who was looking to struggle initially, and the attack also consisted of two of the fastest bowlers in the world-Lee and Tait. The opposition captain was someone who had already won two of the previous editions of the world cup, and was famous for choking sides while defending totals, with his tactful conduct. But Raina's great body language, which did not suggest any signs of nerves, would have definitely helped Yuvraj to get over any fear, and a strokeful unbeaten partnership of 74 runs, ensured that they would not have to even bother their tail, and achieved the target with 15 balls to spare. A good hand of 21 not out in the final, while chasing an even bigger total, finally helped India to the World Cup trophy after 28 long years.