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Zaheer, Yuvraj and R.P. Singh bag Cricinfo awards

New Delhi: Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and R.P. Singh were among the six cricketers who were named winners of the inaugural Cricinfo awards for their outstanding performance in three different formats of the game.

Apart from the Indian trio, the Sri Lankan duo of Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga and Australia’s retiring hero Adam Gilchrist were also the winners.

The winners were selected by a jury comprising Geoffrey Boycott, Ian Chappell, Daryll Cullinan, Tony Greig, Michael Holding, David Lloyd, Sanjay Manjrekar, Rameez Raja and Ravi Shastri.

Sangakkara won the Test batting prize for his 192 against Australia in Hobart, while Zaheer bagged the Test bowling award for his five for 75 in the second Test against England at Trent Bridge.

Gritty performance

“It was a really gritty performance by Zaheer Khan, and the Indians will thank him for the memorable victory at Trent Bridge, and that allowed India to go on and win an exciting series,” Boycott said.

Fellow jury member Rameez echoed the same view and said, “What was eye-catching about the spell was the use of the crease and the angle that he developed to remain on top of the opposition. It was a masterclass from Zaheer Khan and he richly deserves the award.”

Gilchrist won the one-day batting title for his 149 in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka, while Malinga got the bowler’s award for claiming four wickets in as many balls against South Africa in the World Cup.

Both the Twenty20 awards went to Indian players.

Destructive batting

Yuvraj took the batting honours for his destructive 70 off 30 balls against Australia in the semifinals even though the tournament would probably be known as one in which he clobbered Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over.

Left-arm seamer R.P. Singh won the bowlers’ award for his decisive four for 13 against the host in the World Cup in South Africa.

“Cricket awards are commonplace, but to us at Cricinfo they are a logical and inevitable extension of what we are about,” Sambit Bal, editor of Cricinfo said.

The award winners:

Test: Batting: Kumar Sangakkara (SL): 192 v Australia 2nd Test, Hobart. Bowling: Zaheer Khan (Ind): five for 75 v England, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge.

One-day: Batting: Adam Gilchrist (Aus): 149 v Sri Lanka, World Cup final, Bridgetown. Bowling: Lasith Malinga (SL): four for 54 v South Africa, World Cup, Georgetown.

Twenty20: Batting: Yuvraj Singh (Ind): 70 v Australia, World Twenty20 semifinals, Durban. Bowling: R.P. Singh (Ind): four for 13 v South Africa, World Twenty20, Durban.

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