Yuvraj steers India to series lead
31-Oct-2009
A subdued Yuvraj adapted his game to the situation • AFP
Yuvraj Singh's big-hitting abilities are well-established, but his skills on slow tracks and against the turning ball are still under scrutiny. On Saturday, he gave the perfect riposte to the doubters on a difficult track: making a uncharacteristically patient 96-ball 78.
The ball was not coming onto the bat, and run-making was proving extremely difficult. India had lost three big wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in their chase of a competitive 230.
On a pitch with visibly dramatic wear and tear, Yuvraj and his captain MS Dhoni stayed in consolidation mode to slowly pull India out of the hole caused by the top-order failure. Yuvraj came to the crease in the 14th over but it was not till the 34th that he cut loose.
With the equation reading 94 needed in 17 overs, he flicked for six and hit an extra-cover drive off Moises Henriques before he repeated the sequence next over with a bludgeoned six over long-on and a square-driven boundary against Adam Voges. The momentum shifted permanently after that and Yuvraj played several more exquisite drives to calm the home team's nerves and drag India doggedly towards a 2-1 series lead.