The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : `There is pressure'

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Friday, Mar 23, 2007
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`There is pressure'

Special Correspondent

Port of Spain: Yuvraj Singh is looked upon as a dab hand in pressure situations. He has proven repeatedly that he can keep his head when others around him lose theirs.

Late on Wednesday afternoon, he confirmed what is widely believed in sports circles: the only method of conquering fear involves feeling it.

"I don't want to say there is no pressure," he said ahead of the match against Sri Lanka. "There is. It's a very important game and the whole country is looking for India to win that match. We really want to put in a solid performance and climb the ladder. We've come here a long way and practised really hard."

Yuvraj has looked India's best batsman in the two Group B games. Against both Bangladesh and Bermuda, he struck a crisp ball. Already he has shown why the team management was desperate for him to recover from the `cruciate ligament' tear that forced him out of action between late October 2006 and late January 2007.

Good knocks

"The last two matches have been good for me. But as a team we didn't have a good result in the first game. So we needed to put up a good solid performance in the second one. I am happy with my batting. Batting down the order, I know that I have to go there and hit the ball. In the nets and in the last game I did that. You have to look at the situation also. Whatever it is, I will try to do my best," said Yuvraj.

He weighed in on the sweep shot — a stroke that has both fetched him runs and betrayed him in crucial moments. "You have to see what angle the bowler is bowling. When they attack my pads, sweeping is the better option. You have to see what happens in the next game. You have certain shots in your mind that you are good at. Just try and play them."

Did he think chasing was easier than setting a target at the Queen's Park Oval? "Obviously. The wicket does a bit in the morning. But, if you see out some good overs in the beginning you can still build the innings later. So I don't think the toss is really vital. But we'll see how it goes on Friday." A score of "240 to 260," he said, was par for the wicket.

Friday's match was significantly different from any of the recent ODIs between India and Sri Lanka at home, said Yuvraj. "Of course it is different from what we had in India when we beat them there. Playing at home, you get home support, you have different wickets, different climate."

Yuvraj refused to pick one dangerous Sri Lankan bowler, saying the side had many, but he played the ball not the reputation.

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