In Pictures: Yuvraj Singh's journey to 300 ODIs

As India take on Bangladesh in the much-awaited semi-final encounter of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, we are going to witness history in the making. Yuvraj Singh will be walking out for the 300^th time in a One Day International.

The man who’s career was supposedly over after his battle with cancer and the man who was dropped from the side on multiple occasions. Yet, he had an answer to it all. Yuvraj’s journey to 300 ODIs has been nothing short of spectacular.

One of the biggest fighters in the Indian cricket team, Yuvraj has defied the odds time and again and proved himself on the big stage. He has taken India to numerous victories over his illustrious career which has spanned over 15 years.

He becomes only the 5^th Indian to do so and joins the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Mohammad Azharrudin in the 300 club.

Let’s take a look at Yuvraj Singh’s magnificent journey to 300 ODIs in pictures.

The Beginning (2000-2003)

Yuvraj made a mark in his very first match with the bat

After making a solid impression on the selectors in the U-19 World Cup in 2000, Yuvraj was drafted into the side for the ICC Knockout Cup (now known as the ICC Champions Trophy) which was held in Kenya.

As an 18-year-old, he took on the mighty Australians with ease and smashed them all around the park for his 80-ball-84 in his very first innings with the bat. The world was beginning to get a glimpse of what the youngster is capable of.

His career began to take shape in 2002 when he took India to an unlikely victory agaisnt England

The 2002-03 season was one of the best for Indian cricket under Sourav Ganguly. The team achieved great heights and were surpassing the expectations of fans around the world and the youngster Yuvraj was at the helm of the success.

2002 Natwest Series Final. A day no Indian would ever forget. With India chasing 326 for victory (a mammoth total in those days), they were struggling at 146-5 with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly all back in the pavilion.

Out came Yuvraj and Mohammad Kaif and gave the English team a nightmare they would never forget and the Indian fans moments to cherish for the rest of their life. Their fearless attitude and impeccable shot making was a treat for sore eyes.

First Hundred and more (2003-06)

Yuvraj achieved greater heights in 2004 and was becoming India’s most dependable middle order batsmen

After four years, Yuvraj finally got to his first hundred against Bangladesh in 2003 and followed that up with a big hundred against one of his favourite opponents – Australia in 2004. While most batsmen feared the deadly bowlers from down under, Yuvraj always relished the challenge and took on the likes of Glenn Mcgrath and Brett Lee with ease.

He smashed his way to an unbeaten knock of 139 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Unfortunately, Australia won that match by 2 wickets thanks to the Duckworth-Lewis system.

Yuvraj produced stunning performances against arch-rivals Pakistan

Yuvraj went through a bad patch for a few series in 2004-05 but bounced back in style against Pakistan in 2005-06 with two magnificent centuries to his name. He continued to get some big knocks under his belt against West Indies and Zimbabwe in 2006 and was proving out to be one of the most dependable batsmen in the middle order for India.

He took part in two Champions Trophy campaigns as well in 2004 and 2006 and did not perform too well on both occasions as India were knocked out in the group stage of the tournament itself.

Hitting His Peak (2007-11)

Yuvraj flourished between 2005 and 2009

Amidst India’s horrible world cup campaign, Yuvraj’s knock against Bermuda was probably the only thing to cheer about. India were knocked out of the tournament but they had a lot to cheer about later that year as they clinched the inaugural World T20 which was held in South Africa

His glorious form with the bat continued in 2008 as well. In the month of November, he scored his fastest ever ODI Hundred against England in Rajkot. It was the second fastest ODI hundred by an Indian back then until Kohli overtook it twice later on.

However, earlier that year, India basked in the glory of one of their most famous wins against Australia down under in the tri-series held in March. A revolution had begun in the Indian cricket camp and MS Dhoni was leading it.

After 2009, he endured a slightly dry spell

Unfortunately, he missed the majority of the 2009 season due to a finger injury he picked up prior to the ICC Champions Trophy. He did not feature in too many matches in the 2009-10 season and struggled a bit with his form scoring just a single ODI century against West Indies.

The dream come true (2011)

The biggest highlight of his career

As the 2011 World Cup campaign came along, the Indian cricket team were carrying the hopes and dreams of a billion people on their shoulders. It was to be Sachin Tendulkar’ s last ever World Cup and the whole nation wanted to win it and in their own backyard.

Cometh the hour and cometh the man. Yuvraj, as he had done on multiple occasions performed when it mattered most and transformed into a beast during the successful world cup campaign. He was extremely sick throughout the tournament and was seen vomiting blood on multiple occasions as well.

However, he had only one thing in mind and that was to bring the trophy back home.

He was rightfully awarded the man of the tournament award for his performance with the bat and the ball throughout India's campaign and left the whole nation chanting his name in unison.

The Tragedy, Comeback, and The Slump (2011-16)

Yuvraj had to go through chemotherapy to get rid of the tumour in his lungs

Shortly after the world cup campaign, tragedy struck. He was sick throughout the tournament and when he finally got it checked out by a doctor, he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his lungs.

Everyone thought his time on the cricket field was done as the entire nation prayed for his speedy recovery.

For Yuvraj, it was just another bouncer he had to duck. He fought the battle with cancer just like he would swat away a bad ball to the boundary. Just a few months after he was diagnosed, he was up and about and ready to take the field for India once again.

Yuvraj made a comeback towards the end of 2012 but his performance dipped thus leading to him being dropped

Just a few months after successfully recovering from cancer, Yuvraj took the field once again. His first match was against New Zealand in a T20I in September 2012. His first ODI came a few months later when India took on Pakistan in an ODI in Chennai which India lost by 6 wickets.

He had a few noteworthy performances with the bat but his comeback did not go as well as planned as his form kept dipping and with the emergence of a lot of youngsters in the side, Yuvraj was eventually dropped from the squad after India’s tour to South Africa in December 2013.

Yuvraj 2.0 (2017-)

Back to where he started – producing match winning performances for India at the age of 35

Yuvraj featured in a number of T20Is for India between 2013 and 2016 but was unable to find a place in the ODI set up. As he took part in Punjab’s Ranji Trophy campaign of 2016-17, he captained the side in the absence of Harbhajan Singh and produced some magnificent performances with the bat. Averaging over 70 and scoring a couple of centuries, Yuvraj was back in contention.

His performances were duly taken note of and after a break of almost four years, he was called up to India’s ODI squad to take on England in January 2017. Amidst all the criticism he received, at the age of 35, He produced his career best performance of 150 against the Englishmen at Cuttack thus taking India to victory. This was his first century in six years.

He was eventually named in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy and with the critics taking shots at him, he stood and up delivered once again. He produced a man of the match performance with the bat against arch-rivals Pakistan in the first match of the tournament and took India to an important victory.