Yuvraj sizzles

Man of the match Yuvraj Singh is taken for a spin by skipper Dhoni on the motorbike that he won as the prize.-Pics: K. R. DEEPAK

After Sehwag and Gambhir had laid a solid foundation, Yuvraj blazed away in the first India-England one-dayer. K. C. Vijaya Kumar reports.

It may not rank alongside Mohammad Azharuddin’s decision to field first at Lord’s and watch Graham Gooch notch a triple ton in 1990. However, when Kevin Pietersen called right at the toss and then opted to field, there was a sense of disbelief especially in the media contingent from England and glee amidst M. S. Dhoni’s men.

Later Pietersen said that he banked on the pitch’s promised assistance to seamers in the first hour. And he had a four-pronged pace attack to unleash. “Unfortunately, things happened for just three balls,” quipped Pietersen and Dhoni queered the pitch when he said at the post-match presentation ceremony, “Losing the toss was a blessing in disguise, even we would have fielded as we thought the pitch will help the seamers in the first 45 minutes.”

Pietersen’s decision set the stage for a run-riot and with ‘Man of the Match’ Yuvraj Singh signalling his return to form with a rousing unbeaten 138, India defeated England by 158 runs in the first clash of the seven-match ODI series that was held at Rajkot’s Madhavrao Scindia Stadium. India scored 387 for five in 50 overs and bowled out England for 229 in 37.4 overs.

The warm morning sun had perhaps dried up the dew and as James Anderson and Stuart Broad bent their backs, all they could see were the broad bats of Gautam Gambhir (51, 63b, 8x4) and Virender Sehwag (85, 73b, 10x4, 3x6). The openers carved a 127-run stand from 119 deliveries with the whipped shots to the on-side and the lofted ones over the packed off-side being the preferred routes.

The only period of restraint was the opening overs of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison who stepped in after Anderson and Broad returned to the deep mulling over wayward spells. Flintoff darted a few into Sehwag’s rib-cage, while Harmison angled deliveries across Gambhir’s bat to elicit muted appeals from the close-in cordon.

It was the clichéd ‘calm before the storm’ as Sehwag struck Paul Collingwood into the skies over mid-wicket, while Gambhir, moved back and forth like a fencer, lofting with élan. Left-arm spinner Samit Patel was also treated with disdain before he induced a tame chip from Gambhir and a miscued heave from Sehwag.

Enter Yuvraj with a baggage of turmoil and lack of runs. Add to it a back that quivered with pain and a thick band around his waist for lumbar support and you have a picture of a man searching for his magic wand.

Yuvraj did find his sparkle (138 not out, 78b, 16x4, 6x6) and it helped that Suresh Raina (43) and later M.S. Dhoni (39) lent him support in two partnerships worth 89 and 105 runs respectively for the third and fifth wickets. The second partnership came in just 58 deliveries as Yuvraj despite the pain shooting up his back, switched gears and almost made runner Gambhir’s presence redundant.

“When I walked in Sehwag told me that it was a good wicket to bat on,” Yuvraj later said and he threatened to score the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian. Eventually, he settled for second best at 64 deliveries, while Azharuddin’s knock off 62 balls stayed on top. “More than the record, it was important that I score for the team,” Yuvraj said.

It was a sparkling innings and though rich in the big hits that scraped roofs, the one that stood out was when he stood upright, moved a fraction back as much as his pain would allow and cut Harmison fine, bisecting two fielders manning the point area.

Later he plonked his front foot and found the time to either go through with the shot or hold back and find the square-leg fence. “Perhaps one of my best knocks ever,” he said later and it proved too strong a gale force for England to withstand.

England’s pursuit of India’s 387 was grounded early as the top-order caved in with a mix of an inability to force the pace and the irresistible nibble outside the off stump. Matthew Prior, Owais Shah and Ian Bell fell early in the opening spells of Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel to leave the score wobbling at 34 for three and with just Pietersen and Flintoff the lone bearers of hope. Flintoff perished to Zaheer and R. P. Singh scalped Paul Collingwood, leaving Pietersen with an unenviable task.

The skipper complied with a 63 (56b, 7x4, 2x6) that had its twinkle-toed moments against Yusuf Pathan. Pietersen and Samit Patel shared a 70-run sixth-wicket partnership. Later when Pietersen fell while scampering to Ravi Bopara’s call for a single, the battle was over. Bopara’s big hits (54 not out, 38b, 2x4, 5x6) delayed the inevitable a wee bit and in the end Pietersen said: “Yuvraj played splendidly. We were always behind but we will come back.”

THE SCORES

India: G. Gambhir c Shah b Patel 51, V. Sehwag c Bell b Patel 85, S. Raina c Collingwood b Flintoff 43, Yuvraj Singh (not out) 138, Y. Pathan c Bell b Harmison 0, M. S. Dhoni b Harmison 39, Rohit Sharma (not out) 11. Extras (b-1, lb-9, w-10) 20. Total (for five wkts. in 50 overs): 387.

Fall of wickets: 1-127, 2-153, 3-242, 4-247, 5-352.

England bowling: Anderson 8-0-52-0, Broad 10-0-74-0, Flintoff 10-0-67-1, Harmison 10-0-75-2, Patel 9-0-78-2, Collingwood 1-0-15-0, Pietersen 2-0-16-0.

England: I. Bell c Dhoni b Zaheer 25, M. Prior c Sehwag b Munaf 4, O. Shah c Sehwag b Zaheer 0, K. Pietersen (run out) 63, A. Flintoff lbw b Zaheer 4, P. Collingwood c Dhoni b R. P. Singh 19, S. Patel st. Dhoni b Harbhajan 28, Ravi Bopara (not out) 54, S. Broad c Gambhir b Sehwag 26, Harmison (run out) 0, Anderson lbw b Yusuf 0. Extras (lb-2, w-4) 6. Total (in 37.4 overs) 229.

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-17, 3-34, 4-38, 5-76, 6-146, 7-150, 8-195, 9-207.

India bowling: Zaheer 7-1-26-3, Munaf 6-1-20-1, R. P. Singh 4-0-25-1, Pathan 3.4-0-41-1, Sehwag 9-0-68-1, Harbhajan 8-0-47-1.