Yuvraj Singh cherishes ‘beating’ Usain Bolt when cricket met athletics in India

Yuvraj Singh, the star of India’s 2011 cricket World Cup-winning campaign, recalled a race with Olympic 100m champion Usain Bolt in Bengaluru. Bolt ran the final 100m race of his career at the IAAF World Championships of Athletics, winning bronze. The race was won by Justin Gatlin of the US

Yuvraj Singh has paid a rich but cheeky tribute to the world’s fastest man, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who brought an end to his glorious 100m career with a bronze medal at the ongoing IAAF World Championships of Athletics in London. (INDIA vs SRI LANKA LIVE)

Usain Bolt and Yuvraj Singh competed in a 100 metre race as well as cricket during the Jamaican Olympic champion’s visit to Bengaluru. Bolt ran his final 100m solo race at the IAAF World Championships of Athletics in London on Saturday, finishing third. The race was won by Justin Gatlin (HT Photo)

Usain Bolt, who has won as many as eight Olympic medals and 11 golds in world championships, won bronze behind gold medallist Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman of the US on Saturday night (2:30 AM Sunday morning in India).

Tributes are flowing in from all over the world for Bolt, and after Virat Kohli, it was India’s star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who once had the opportunity of competing in a 100-meter race with the Jamaican sprinter and even play cricket.

On Wednesday, Indian captain Virat Kohli had posted a video on Twitter congratulating Usain Bolt.

In an Instagram post with a short video, Yuvraj Singh paid tribute to Bolt saying that his ‘legacy will forever be unmatched’.

During a promotional event for a sports manufacturing brand in Bengaluru in 2014, Bolt’s team had defeated Yuvraj Singh’s side in a four-overs-per-side match, whereas the Indian superstar had ‘pipped’ the world’s fastest man in an exhibition race. Each team had seven players.

Like Jamaican Chris Gayle, Usain Bolt loves cricket too and loves to hit the ball long (© AFP/Getty Images)

Bolt slammed a 19-ball 45 as his team chased down a target of 59. Bolt hammered five sixes, including three off Yuvraj.

Following the cricket match, both Bolt and Yuvraj took part in a 100-meter race in which the Indian cricketer came first, but not before pushing the Jamaican sprinter behind jokingly.