Yuvraj Singh 12 Sixes vs England – 2007 World T20, Bangalore

Lore & Background

The 2007 ICC World T20 was the inaugural edition of the format's global championship, and the India-versus-England group-stage clash in Bangalore carried enormous weight. Both sides needed a win to keep their tournament hopes alive, and the atmosphere at M. Chinnaswamy was electric from the first over. England's young fast bowler Stuart Broad, still in his early twenties, was tasked with containing the Indian middle order.

Then Yuvraj Singh walked in. What followed was not a partnership, not a tactical masterclass, not even a conventional innings. It was a single, sustained act of demolition. Ball after ball, the bat connected at full extension and the white leather left the stadium in a flat, screaming arc. The crowd noise became a physical force. Broad, to his credit, kept coming back, kept throwing down the ball, and kept watching it sail over long-on, over long-off, over the boundary rope, over the sky. Twelve times. The scoreboard flickered: 1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31, 36. The over ended. The stadium did not.

In the years that followed, the footage has been replayed at every RR home game, stitched into pre-match montages, quoted in every fan forum thread. For the Pink Army, Yuvraj is not just a former player; he is the embodiment of the franchise's promise that Rajasthan cricket could produce moments that make the entire world stop and stare. The twelve sixes are the Rosetta Stone of RR fandom — the single image that explains why a team from a desert state could make the world feel small.

Reader's Guide

Bangalore, September 2007. The M. Chinnaswamy is packed, the air thick with humidity and expectation. India and England are locked in a group-stage T20 where both sides need a result to stay alive. England post a competitive total, and India need a steady chase. The middle order is building, partnerships are forming, and the game is tracking toward a tense finish.

Then the ball is handed to Stuart Broad. He's young, quick, still finding his rhythm in the format. Yuvraj Singh is at the crease. The first delivery is a bouncer. Yuvraj doesn't flinch. The bat whips through the line and the ball clears the long-on fence. The second is a yorker. Same answer. Over the stands. The third, fourth, fifth — each one a different trajectory, each one landing in a different section of the crowd. The scoreboard climbs: 1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31. The commentary team has stopped talking. There is nothing left to say.

The sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth. All over the boundary. All in the same over. 36 runs off 12 balls. The fastest fifty in T20 international history. Broad, to his eternal credit, keeps throwing the ball down. He has no choice. He is a professional. But his eyes follow each one up into the black Bangalore sky.

The over ends. The stadium detonates. Yuvraj raises the bat, looks back at his bowler, and the Pink Army — every single one of them — roars as if the ball had just cleared their own roof. This is the over they will talk about for the rest of their lives. This is the over that made Rajasthan cricket feel like it belonged at the centre of the world.

Did You Know?

• Yuvraj Singh's 36 off 12 balls remains the fastest fifty in T20 international cricket history, a record that has stood since 2007.
• Yuvraj Singh went on to become one of the most recognisable faces in Rajasthan Royals history, carrying the energy of that Bangalore night into every season the franchise played.