Yuvraj sympathy for Broad

20 September 2007

Yuvraj Singh consoles Stuart Broad after the game at Kingsmead

Yuvraj Singh admitted he felt for Stuart Broad after hitting him for six sixes in an over as England bowed out of the ICC World Twenty20 with defeat to India.

The off-spinning all-rounder became only the fourth player in history to hit 36 off an over to help India post a daunting 218 for four and seal an 18-run victory after England were restricted to 200 for six in reply.

He follows Sir Garry Sobers, Ravi Shastri and Herschelle Gibbs as the only players to have achieved the feat but, despite joining the greats of the game, Yuvraj had great sympathy having been hit for five successive sixes by Dimitri Mascarenhas only a fortnight ago at the Brit Oval.

"I was the one who got hit for five sixes in The Oval game and it's a horrible feeling," admitted Yuvraj.

"I'm not even a bowler and Stuart is obviously one of their main bowlers. I feel sorry for him because I had a horrible day.

"Personally it's a great feeling. To hit six sixes off a main bowler is great and I thank God.

"When I got hit for five sixes I got so many phone calls - nobody called me when I used to get a hundred and I got a load of them making fun of me so I thought that wasn't right and I wanted to give it back."

Broad sees another delivery dispatched for six by Yuvraj

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Yuvraj also revealed how an exchange of words with Andrew Flintoff at the start of the over may have sparked his stunning response.

"It happens in games," he said. "Opposition do have a word with each other and it's part of the game.

"Outside we're good friends but in the game it's competitive. When you get a few words from someone you charge up and you want to give it back with the bat."

England captain Paul Collingwood backed Broad to recover from his mauling - he returned figures of 0-60 off four overs.

"Poor old Broady couldn't get the yorker in and as each six goes he was getting more and more nervous,” Collingwood said.

"He's got the sort of character that loves challenges and that's a little knock back but he'll definitely bounce back from it."