Yuvraj marks year 28 in style

The second Twenty20 international at Mohali will be remembered for the sloppy fielding and catching from both sides. It will also be remembered for Yuvraj Singh, who topped his 28th birthday with a flawless all-round performance.

With Sri Lanka on the path to a massive score, and the bowlers leaking loads of runs, Yuvraj's figures of 3 for 23 off three overs stood out. Kumar Sangakkara got to his half-century with a smashing shot over midwicket for six, but Yuvraj finally got his Kings XI Punjab team-mate as the encore found Ashish Nehra at wide long-on. Kapugedara holed out in similar fashion off Yuvraj, and Chinthaka Jayasinghe, who had clouted a six over long-on off Jadeja, finally ran out of luck when he swung one to deep square leg. A late surge pushed Sri Lanka to 206 and India had a mountain to climb.

Virender Sehwag gave India a rousing start and MS Dhoni too chipped in. When Yuvraj is on song, modest medium pace really isn't the answer, and Sri Lanka discovered that the hard way. For much of the chase, the game was in the balance, but two overs turned an arduous trek into a stroll. First, Kaushalya Weeraratne was pummelled for sixes over long-off and long-on in an over that cost 21, and then Nuwan Kulasekara was thumped a long way over cover and long-on in a 23-run over. To add to Kulasekara's woes, Tillakaratne Dilshan let one slip through his fingers for four, with Yuvraj then on 40. He went on to score 60 and sealed the win in style, with a golf swing over long-on.