Yuvraj: Happy with the way I am hitting the ball

Yuvraj Singh, playing his first match for Mumbai Indians, scored a gritty 53 but couldn't help his team succumbing to a loss against Delhi Capitals.

Mumbai Indians' Yuvraj Singh en route his 53 against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.

Mumbai Indians' Yuvraj Singh turned the clock back on Sunday evening as scored a gritty 53 against Delhi Capitals in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Wankhede Stadium. Though, Mumbai Indians, ended up losing the game, Yuvraj was happy with his innings.

“I took my time there. The wickets were falling and I thought if I take chance early, we (don’t) want to end getting close to the game, so I just took my time. I am happy with the way I was hitting the ball,” Yuvraj said, post match.

Chasing 214 was not easy, but with some of the stars in its line-up, Mumbai Indians had hopes. But what went wrong for the side?

“Losing Rohit (Sharma) early (was one of the reasons). (Quinton) de kock was doing well but we lost his wicket. (Kieron) Pollard came and quickly lost his wicket. We really couldn’t get partnerships going. Had we got 20-30 (run) partnerships, we could have got more close to the game. The wicket was more of 180-190 run wicket, 213 was quite a match-winning score and Delhi has got really good bowling,” Yuvraj said.

Related: Pant heroics hand Delhi its first win

On a day, he returned to form, youngster Rishabh Pant stole the show for Delhi Capitals, playing a breezy knock of 78 in just 27 balls. And Yuvraj spoke highly of the young batsman.

“I can’t say about selection but Rishabh was outstanding today. He had a outstanding season last year. He is playing well in Test matches as well. To score (two hundreds) overseas at such an age shows his character. It is important we groom him well and hope he is the next big thing for us,” Yuvraj said.

The swashbuckling batsman hasn’t had a memorable outing in the last couple of years. But what keeps him going even at 37? “In the last two years, I have been up and down. I started playing cricket because I enjoyed the game and then I was not playing for Indian. It was U-14, U-16, so till the time I enjoy, I will play,” he said.

“When the time comes, I will be the first one to hang up my boots. I spoke to Sachin (Tendulkar) as well and he has gone through such a time at 38-39. Talking to him makes things easier for me,” the seasoned campaigner said.

While he was disappointed with the result, Yuvraj did admit that “plans backfire and that’s the nature of the game.”