article written by paramjeet.
Yuvraj It was one of the best days of Yuvraj’s career as he hit his second century on a trot and took four wickets for 28 in the second match of the seven match series between India and England, played in Indore on Monday, November 17. He not only scored his second consecutive century but also steered his side out of danger when they were 29 for three at one stage. He then ‘rolled his arm’ and proved his ability as a left-arm-spinner by taking four wickets for 28 from ten overs which included prized scalps of Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and Owais Shaw. His second consecutive century, first led a massive Indian total of 292 runs from 50 overs and then his bowling helped India defeat England by 54 runs.
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Engand Bating Chasing India’s total of 292 runs, England could score only 238 runs in 47 overs. It was Yuvraj Singh who opened the flood gates for his side as he took first four out of five wickets on a sluggish pitch. England could not get a good start as it had lost its first wickets in the very first over of their inning. Suresh Raina’s ‘Jonty Rhodes’ act resulted in the downfall of their first wicket of Ian Bell. His accurate throw found Bell short of his crease and he was declared run out. But Mathew Prior and Owais Shah helped England to recover from the earlier jolt and added 96 runs for the second wicket. Yuvraj ended their ‘dream run’ by removing both of them in his successive overs. The first to go was O. Shaw (58) who had completed his half century by hitting a six off Yuvraj Singh. He was followed by Matt Prior (38). Yuvraj forced both of them to their backfoot with his angle and pierced through their defense leaving England at a balanced position with three down for 109 from 24 overs.
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Partnership Skipper Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff took over the reigns and kept England’s hopes of victory alive. Yuvraj again struck twice in his same over and ended their ‘racy partnership’ of 74 runs for the fourth wicket by first removing K. Pietersen and then trapping Flintoff leg-before-wicket. Pietersen made 33 runs while Flintoff made 43 off 35 balls with four fours and three sixes. Flintoff had made 21 runs by hitting three sixes in an over of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Only Samit Patel (20) and S Broad (22) could reach double figures from rest of the English batsmen as England lost their remaining five wickets for 49 runs. They both were sent back by Sehwag. Sehwag’s third victim was Harminson (6) whom he got stumped out. Harbhajan Singh took the wicket of Paul Collingwood (2) while Ravi Bopara (3) was sent back by Y Pathan.
Toss In the morning, skipper Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first. But India was pushed into a deep trouble as it had lost its first three wickets of Sehwag (1), Suresh Raina (4) and Rohit Sharma (3) for just 29 runs. India’s top batting order was ripped apart by S Broad who took three wickets for 14 runs from his first spell. All the first three Indian batsmen lost their wickets without getting used to the sluggish pitch. Yuvraj Singh, who came to play after Sharma’s departure, was tested by Broad and Flintoff with some short pitched deliveries that angled across. He struck two sixes and 15 fours to make 118 runs in 122 balls. He added 134 runs from 136 deliveries for the fourth wicket along with Gautam Gambhir. Gambhir made 70 off 76 balls which included six fours and one six. He was bowled out by Pietersen when he drove one of his sharp off-break deliveries onto his stumps. He was soon followed by Yuvraj Singh who was caught by Prior off Broad. Skipper Dhoni could make only 15 runs and was bowled out by Collingwood. Harbhajan Singh (8) and Zaheer Khan (1) got run out while R P Singh was bowled out by Harminson. Another attraction of the day was Yusuf Pathan’s maiden half century of 29 balls that included two fours and four sixes. He and Munaf Patel remained not out. At the end of the match Yuvraj Singh was declared Man of the Match for his outstanding performance in both fields of the game, batting and bowling.
