The other day, Rahul Dravid had outlined Yuvraj Singh’s importance to the team, and the need for him to stay fit, if India were looking to do well in the World Cup.
VISAKHAPATNAM: The other day, during the pre-match press briefing, Indian skipper Rahul Dravid had outlined Yuvraj Singh’s importance to the team, and the need for him to stay fit, if India were looking to do well in the World Cup.
He had also, in a subtle way, remarked that India’s opening woes were almost over, an obvious reference to comeback man Sourav Ganguly.
“Yuvraj is a key man for us. He needs to stay fit. He is a vital cog for us in the middle order. He can change the complexion of a match single-handedly, and it’s not just his batting capabilities, but his fielding as well. His batting is so effortless…” Dravid had gone on a praising spree.
Saturday, the day of the fourth and final ODI between India and Sri Lanka, was payback time for Yuvraj. As usual, he was a livewire on the field during the Sri Lankan innings, guarding the gully region like a panther.
But it was his batting that electrified the stadium. Coming in at the fall of Virender Sehwag’s wicket, he was in his groove right away.
His first scoring shot — just a simple flick of the wrist - went soaring over the long-on boundary. The straight drives past the bowler, the pushes through the covers, the leg glances - all bore the class of a man in supreme form.
Yuvraj, who was out of action for nearly three months due to a knee injury, was drafted into the squad for the series against Sri Lanka. He missed the first two matches, in Kolkata and Rajkot, but played the third one in Goa, scoring 21.
If there were some doubts over his fitness and form - he put to rest everything with his innings on Saturday. His unbeaten 95, studded with 11 delectable hits to the fence and three soaring sixes, not only helped India clinch the series 2-1, but also took a big load off Dravid’s head.
“His innings today was a big relief,” Dravid admitted after the match. “He simple batted beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. That’s the beauty of this team. We now have got so much depth with Yuvraj back at his best.” Yuvraj himself was modest.
“The ball was coming on nicely to the bat and that prompted me to go for the strokes. It was a great wicket. I am really happy the way I batted today,” he said.
Scoreboard
Sri Lanka Innings
Marvan Atapattu b Sreesanath 19
Sanath Jayasuriya c Ganguly b Agarkar 22
Mahela Jayawardene c Uthappa b Agarkar 7
Kumar Sangakkara c Uthappa b Khan 1
Chamara Silva not out 107
Tillekaratne Dilshan c Uthappa b Ganguly 28
Russel Arnold c Sreesanth b Sehwag 22
Farveez Maharoof c Karthik b Khan 28
Malinga Bandara not out 5
Extras (1b, 2lb, 3nb,14w) 20
TOTAL (for seven wickets) 259.
Batting time: 270 minutes. Overs:47.
Fall of wickets: 1 42, 2 50, 3 52, 4 56, 5 124, 6 165,
7 229.
Did not bat: Dilhara Fernando and Lasith Malinga.
Bowling: Zaheer Khan 10 2 54 2 (1w,1nb), Ajit Agarkar 10 1 52 2 (3w), Shantakumaran Sreesanth 8 1 46 1 (2nb), Harbhajan Singh 9 048 0 (2w), Sourav Ganguly 6 0 29 1 (1w), Virender Sehwag 4 0 27 1 (7w).
India Innings
Sourav Ganguly not out 58
Virender Sehwag run out 46
Robin Uthappa c Jayasuriya b Maharoof 52
Dinesh Karthik c and b Fernando 1
Yuvraj Singh not out 95
Extras (2lb, 1nb, 8w) 11
Total (for three wickets) 263.
Batting Time 182 minutes. Overs 41.
Fall of wickets: 1 92, 2 106,3 118.
Did not bat: Rahul Dravid, Mahender Singh Dhoni, ZaheerKhan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar and Shantakumaran Sreesanth.
Bowling: Farveez Maharoof 6 0 60 1 (1nb, 5w), Lasith Malinga 9 1 54 0 (2w), Dilhara Fernando 9 1 56 1, Malinga Bandara 4 0 37 0, Tillekaratne Dilshan 9 0 34 0 (1w), Sanath Jayasuriya 2 0 10 0, Russel Arnold 2 0 10 0.
Umpires: Simon Taufel, Australia, and Ameesh Saheba, India.
TV Umpire: Suresh Shastri, India. Match Referee: Alan Hurst, Australia.
Toss: Won by India.
Result: India wins by seven wickets.
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