The cricket world was still buzzing about Yuvraj Singh's six sixes off Stuart Broad in the 2007 T20 World Cup when karma decided to make a personal appearance wearing an England kit. In the subsequent ODI series between England and India at The Oval, Dimitri Mascarenhas — of all people — smashed Yuvraj himself for five sixes in a single over. The universe's sense of humor was functioning perfectly.
The irony was delicious. Yuvraj, who had just days earlier demolished Broad for 36 runs in an over, was now on the receiving end of almost identical treatment. Mascarenhas, a solid but largely unheralded all-rounder whose career highlight was being Hampshire's best player (an achievement roughly equivalent to being the tallest building in a village), launched Yuvraj's left-arm spin to all parts of The Oval. Five of the six balls went for six, with the other being a dot ball — one ball's difference from matching Yuvraj's record.
The expressions were priceless — Yuvraj looked like a man who'd just learned what his own medicine tasted like, and it was bitter. His face cycled through several stages of disbelief, as if the universe was playing a practical joke that only he couldn't see the humor in. Meanwhile, Mascarenhas celebrated with the bemused air of a man who couldn't quite believe what he was doing, which was fair enough because nobody else could believe it either.
The commentary team couldn't stop referencing the Broad incident, drawing parallels with the glee of people who had been waiting for exactly this kind of cosmic justice. Cricket, as they say, is a great leveller, and this was the proof — served up in The Oval's south London sunshine.