— Photo: V. Ganesan

SCINTILLATING KNOCK: Yuvraj Singh has responded well to the challenge of leading the Indian middle order. Here he exults after his century at Goa.

MARGAO: Yuvraj Singh's languid style and Suresh Raina's flamboyance left England in a shambles at the Nehru Stadium here as India scored an emphatic 49 - run victory and established a 3-0 lead in the seven-match TVS Cup one-day series.

England was an embarrassment to its supporters here on Monday. The team did little of note in any department and looked woefully out of place on a day when Andrew Flintoff and his men failed to match the determination of the Indians to lift their game.

Electing to bat, the slow nature of the pitch posed a greater challenge to the Indian batting line-up which was resurrected by the rising youth power in the shape of Yuvraj and Raina. Their 142-run partnership swung the match India's way.

A cauldron

The arena resembled a cauldron when Yuvraj walked in. He lost little time in taking stock of the pitch and the English attack and settled down to play an astonishing innings. That he has graduated to a level that belongs to quality batsmen was evident in the manner in which Yuvraj paced his knock that lasted 76 balls (11 fours and three sixes).

Sometimes statistics elucidate a performance adequately and it was true in Yuvraj's case on this hot afternoon. His first fifty came off 59 balls and the next off a mere 24 as he recorded his seventh one-day century with enviable flair. Such was Yuvraj's domination in the middle that yet another crafty knock by Raina did not get the kind of attention it deserved.

Raina too hit a half-century, his second in succession, but it was Yuvraj all the way. Flawless and classy, Yuvraj's knock only signified the Punjab youngster's resolve to push his batting standards up a few notches. In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and faced with an increasing number of batsmen out of form, it was the ideal opportunity for Yuvraj to grab.

Aggressive intent

He made his aggressive intent known soon after his arrival, playing rousing strokes with plenty of time to spare. To Yuvraj's credit he maintained the tempo that he set. In fact, he had set a high benchmark that saw him take charge of the middle order.

Known to relish his batting when the ball comes on nicely, he was quick to demonstrate his agile footwork to produce a fabulous range of shots. The six off left-arm spinner Ian Blackwell was a gem as he whipped the ball with an arrogant across-the-line finish.

Yuvraj and Raina savaged seamer Sajid Mahmood for 22 runs in one over in what was to be the best phase of the match for the noisy spectators, who did not reduce the decibels of their vocal support all through the day.

Initially India never promised to travel this far on the shoulders of Yuvraj and Raina. Virender Sehwag's appalling run with the bat remained unabated and Mohammad Kaif recorded his fourth zero in five innings. It was left to Rahul Dravid and Irfan Pathan to give the thrust at the top in a 78-run partnership that ended with the Indian skipper dragging the ball in.

Pathan's casual effort presented point with a sitter. England must have backed itself at this stage but then it lacked the firepower.

Enormous pressure

The disdain with which Yuvraj clubbed the bowlers put enormous pressure on Flintoff.

The England skipper stood helpless in the slog overs when `man of the match' Yuvraj and Raina plundered 98 runs off the last 10 overs.

It was a decisive stage in the contest and young Raina deserves all credit for matching his partner with some sweetly-timed shots in front of the wicket.

England's pedestrian approach on the field was exemplified when M.S. Dhoni and Raina snatched two leg-byes with the ball lying near the stumps. And then came an incredible effort from Dhoni who scooped a ball from outside the off-stump to land it beyond midwicket off James Anderson. The shot evoked a frenzy of celebrations and the state continued until the fall of the last England wicket.

Touch of competition

The English innings, in the absence of Kevin Pietersen, who missed the match due to stomach upset, lacked the will and character to upstage India even though Paul Collingwood lent a touch of competition with a magnificent essay worth 93 (84 balls, ten 4s and one 6). Pathan, with four scalps, once again struck early to put India on the victory path.

The mood of the contest in the second half was best illustrated in the Indians not indulging in any high-fives and hysterical celebrations at the fall of a wicket. A win had been taken for granted even before the English chase had begun, the Collingwood show notwithstanding.

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