The Hindu : Sport : Yuvraj stars in India’s victory

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Tuesday, Jul 03, 2007
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Yuvraj stars in India’s victory

Ted Corbett

CRICKET / India to take on Pakistan in a one-off one-dayer today

— PHOTO: AFP

PERFECT FINISHER: Yuvraj Singh lifted the Indian innings out of trouble and then stayed on till the end to see India through.

GLASGOW: Rahul Dravid celebrated India’s series win over South Africa in Belfast as putting his side in good heart for its tour of England which begins with three Tests and as a boost to their confidence. “I am pleased for the boys who have worked so hard,” he said.

Dravid was right to see the merit of the 2-1 victory as a sign of his side’s ability to fight back after losing the first match, as a compliment to Yuvraj Singh, who, for the second game in a row, showed that he can be a finisher in the same class as Michael Bevan, the former Australian giant of the one-day middle order, and as a portent of brighter things to come.

The effects of rain meant the game stretched far into the night so that it was almost dark when the spectators who had paid so much to wait so long could celebrate as if this narrowest of wins by six wickets with four balls left laid the World Cup woes to rest.

It was a much closer run thing than it appears in the scoreline; possibly as close as the six by Yuvraj which passed over Justin Kemp’s hands by no more than a foot. Had Kemp been able to catch that ball, the result must have been different, for India was already making heavy weather, appropriately in this unseasonal time, of its target.

Poor start

The Indians set out to chase 148 which seemed a small total but when Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir both went in the first five overs, when Sourav Ganguly was caught off the fiery Andre Nel, it looked as if South Africa might turn over those expectations. They are fighters if nothing else; perhaps they are unimaginative fighters, happier not to have a spinner since such bowlers are a risk, more pleased with effort than subtlety. But no-one ever doubted their willingness to commit themselves to a cause; they ought to use angry Nel as their symbol.

Dravid and Yuvraj rebuilt the innings until at 108 Dravid loitered and Mark Boucher, who is ever alert and aware of the possibilities of ambush, threw him out as he approached the crease, bat in the air. “If we had lost I might have blamed myself for the way I got out,” said Dravid, as shamefaced as any modern cricketer can be. Instead M.S. Dhoni helped Yuvraj cross the line.

Yuvraj’s ability to match Bevan has won the series but the award went to Tendulkar, not just a man with two innings above 90 but a man for all seasons. We may take a leaf from the sponsor’s name and call Tendulkar the once and future king because his name will be writ large when many others are forgotten. It is no disgrace to run him second.

Now there is an irony in a new challenge. On Tuesday, India meets Pakistan, an ancient enemy, in Glasgow.

The game is for charity, in the presence of the Prince of Wales, a man devoted to religious tolerance. His dream has been set back by recent events but India and Pakistan can bridge the gap simply by competing peacefully.

The teams (from):

India: Rahul Dravid (captain), M.S. Dhoni (vice-captain), Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Ajit Agarkar, Piyush Chawla, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Shar ma, R.P. Singh and S. Sreesanth.

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt (vice-captain), Imran Nazir, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul.

scoreboard
South Africa: A.B. de Villiers c Dhoni b Ganguly 15, M. van Wyk lbw b Agarkar 0, J. Kallis b Agarkar 0, H. Gibbs b Zaheer 56, J.P. Duminy lbw b Ganguly 0, J. Kemp b Tendulkar 61, M. Boucher (not out) 11, A. Hall c Karthik b Tendulkar 1 ; Extras: (b-1, lb-3) 4. Total: (for seven wkts., in 31 overs) 148.

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-8, 3-28, 4-28, 5-127, 6-144, 7-148.

India bowling: Zaheer 7-0-29-1, Agarkar 6-0-21-2, R.P. Singh 6-2-15-0, Ganguly 6-0-24-2, Chawla 3-0-28-0, Yuvraj 2-0-17-0, Tendulkar 1-0-10-2.

India: S. Ganguly c Boucher b Nel 18, S. Tendulkar c Boucher b Ntini 8, G. Gambhir b Steyn 5, R. Dravid (run out) 36, Yuvraj (not out) 61, M.S. Dhoni (not out) 14; Extras: (lb-3, w-4, nb-3) 10. Total: (for four wkts., in 30.2 overs) 15 2.

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-20, 3-36, 4-108.

South Africa bowling: Steyn 6-0-35-1, Ntini 7-2-18-1, Nel 5.2-1-24-1, Hall 6-0-27-0, Kallis 4-0-36-0, Kemp 2-0-9-0.

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