Yuvraj’s second century on the trot and Yusuf Pathan’s finishing powers put the match out of England’s reach. K. C. Vijaya Kumar reports.
Yuvraj Singh might as well walk in wearing his bathroom slippers and with a toothbrush in hand. And he could well score another century, given the recent upswing in his form that just a few months back was on a slope more slippery than the down-swing seen in the global economy.
A back spasm that marred his 138 at Rajkot and the resultant whispers of a probable return to the reserve benches at Indore only added pathos and expectation as he walked out to bat with India precariously placed at 29 for three in the second One-Day International against England at the Maharani Usha Raje Stadium in Indore.
Man of the Match Yuvraj scored a remarkable 118 (122b, 15x4, 2x6) as he along with Gautam Gambhir (70) pulled India out of the woods. Later, he wheeled his left-arm spin, grabbed four wickets and helped India register a 54-run victory and go 2-0 up in the series.
“Yuvraj took the game away from us,” England captain Kevin Pietersen said. India scored 292 for nine in 50 overs and England replied with 238 in 47 overs. The tale might sound familiar to the one earlier enacted at Rajkot with Yuvraj’s ton being the sequel, but it was also a victory crafted out of Yusuf Pathan’s at-last-on-view finishing skills and some tight bowling backed by spirited fielding.
India won the toss and opted to bat on a pitch that was neither a featherbed nor a mine-field. A sluggish surface impeded shots and the batsmen still on high-octane after their Rajkot exploits did go for the shots.
And in a matter of 30 minutes, India had lost Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma to Stuart Broad steaming in from the Pavilion End while the batsmen failed to gauge the two-paced nature of the wicket.
Yuvraj walked in and as Broad and Andrew Flintoff greeted him with bouncers, he flinched a bit, mothballed his pull and kept his bat tucked behind his frame.
Sometimes it helps to stay mum rather than come out with guns blazing and Yuvraj did that to a nicety. Obviously, the back injury preyed on his thoughts and he was in no mood to rock back and pull until he got his eye in.
He soon settled down and scripted a 134-run fourth-wicket partnership with Gambhir that stemmed the rot and put a spoke in Pietersen’s plans of restricting India. Yuvraj did venture into his favourite mid-wicket fence, while Gambhir, ever eager for the stolen single, played second-fiddle without losing his spark.
Yuvraj’s six off Paul Collingwood was riveting. Pietersen laid the bait of a vacant mid-wicket fence, positioned himself at short mid-wicket and waited for the miscued pull as his seamers bowled a shade short to Yuvraj who proved equal to the challenge and kept clearing the in-field while scoring his 10th ODI hundred.
“The partnership between Gautam and Yuvraj helped me settle down,” Yusuf said. After Gambhir and Yuvraj fell and with the rest unable to muster runs, Yusuf (50 not out, 29b, 2x4, 4x6) scored at will and ensured that the slog was not wasted.
He thumped Steve Harmison twice over the fence in the last over as his maiden ODI fifty bolstered the Indian total and spoilt the visitor’s appetite at lunch.
England was always playing catch-up after Ian Bell sprinted against luck and tested Suresh Raina at mid-off, who flung forward and threw down the stumps in the very first over. A second-wicket partnership of 96 runs between Matt Prior (38) and Owais Shah (58, 78b, 8x4, 1x6) stretched across 133 deliveries. The alliance was high on solidity but low on kinetic energy as England lost its way in the middle overs.
And then Yuvraj stepped in and signed across the pitch, scalping Shah and Prior. Pietersen (33) and Flintoff (43, 35b, 4x4, 3x6) plastered the cracks with a fizzy 74-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Flintoff ruined Harbhajan’s spell with three sixes as the third power-play yielded 59 runs. “We slackened between the 15th and 30th overs as their spinners bowled and then Freddie and I decided to go for the power play and we did well but then we got out,” said Pietersen.
Yuvraj forced Flintoff and Pietersen’s exit and as he playfully ran away from his converging team-mates, England lost hope.
And with Harbhajan dismissing Paul Collingwood, the contest was well and truly over. “We played better than we did at Rajkot but we need to be more competitive,” said Pietersen at a venue where India had signed off its 2006 series against England with a 5-1 verdict.
THE SCORESIndia:Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-15, 3-29, 4-163, 5-206, 6-239, 7-258, 8-261, 9-274.
England bowling: Anderson 6-0-26-0, Broad 10-1-55-4, Flintoff 9-0-49-0, Harmison 7-1-50-1, S. Patel 5-0-37-0, Collingwood 8-0-43-1, Pietersen 5-0-20-1.
England: I. Bell (run out) 1, M. Prior b Yuvraj 38, O. Shah lbw b Yuvraj 58, K. Pietersen b Yuvraj 33, A. Flintoff lbw b Yuvraj 43, P. Collingwood c & b Harbhajan 2, S. Patel c Gambhir b Sehwag 20, R. Bopara c Raina b Yusuf 3, S. Broad b Sehwag 22, S. Harmison st. Dhoni b Sehwag 6, J. Anderson (not out) 1. Extras (lb-2, w-6, nb-3): 11. Total (in 47 overs): 238.
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-102, 3-109, 4-183, 5-184, 6-187, 7-191, 8-222, 9-233.
India bowling: Zaheer 8-1-37-0, Munaf 7-0-31-0, R. P. Singh 5-0-49-0, Yuvraj 10-0-28-4, Harbhajan 10-0-45-1, Sehwag 5-0-28-3, Pathan 2-0-18-1.
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