Samra signals his arrival on the world stage in style

Canada’s teen opener Yuvraj Samra announced himself on the world stage with a record-breaking hundred against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup here on Tuesday.

Samra, named after former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, smashed a 65-ball 110 which included half-a-dozen huge sixes and 11 fours. Though the knock went in vain as the Kiwis romped home in 15.1 overs, Yuvraj showcased champion stuff against a quality attack.

In smashing the century, he became the first from an Associate nation to breach the three-figure mark in the T20 showpiece and also the youngest (19 years and 141 days) to register a ton in the World Cups (T20 and 50-over) beating the record of Ireland’s Paul Stirling, who was 20 years and 196 days old when he scored a hundred against Netherlands in the 2011 ODI World Cup.

“I enjoyed the whole innings, I feel like it just went my way today and I felt great. Yes, I’ve been thinking about this moment every day,” he told after the match.

Samra, whose lofted shots bear an uncanny resemblance to Yuvraj’s, said the innings could be a turning point in his career as he would have caught the eye of franchises across the various T20 leagues.

“I feel this innings could change my life. I can actually make a good living out of this sport,” he said.

New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips, who stole Samra’s thunder with a 36-ball unbeaten 76 to steer the team to victory, was all praise for the latter.

“Yeah, obviously he batted unbelievably well. It’s fantastic for him and he hit the ball really well today.”