Yuvraj flourishes after getting a permanent place in Test X1
Yuvraj flourishes after getting a permanent place in Test X1
(Reuters)
26 April 2006
MUMBAI — Batsman Yuvraj Singh has capitalised on the exit of former captain Saurav Ganguly from the Indian team and is now looking to carry that form into next month’s tour of West Indies.
Ganguly’s axing from the side gave Yuvraj the opportunity to bat higher in the order in one-dayers and he has flourished in his new slot.
“Earlier I batted at number six, with an asking rate of six an over and four wickets down,” Yuvraj told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday.
“When you go out there with just the last 10 overs remaining, your job is to hit. There aren’t opportunities to build an innings.
“(Now) I’ve been focusing to bat out till the end. This has been possible because I am getting to bat high up the order.”
The 24-year-old from the northern Indian state of Punjab was adjudged player of the series for a third successive one-day series during England’s tour of India.
He scored 237 runs in six matches, including a century and a fifty, and took six wickets at an average of 30 with his probing left-arm spin.
India won the seven-match series 5-1, with the fifth match washed out.
India captain Rahul Dravid felt Yuvraj was a more seasoned cricketer now.
“He feels more relaxed because he is a regular and important member of both the test and one-day sides,” Dravid told reporters recently.
“Plus, he is batting a lot straighter. I hope he carries on like this because the way he has finished off games with (Mahendra) Dhoni and (Suresh) Raina makes for a potent combination.”
This season, the burly left-hander has scored 1,161 runs in 28 one-day innings at an impressive average of 58.05 with four centuries and six fifties.
The big scores have primarily come batting at slots three, four and five.
He has been helped in that the team has depth in batting with the maverick Dhoni, the mercurial Raina and the versatile Irfan Pathan following him in the order. The side’s all-round strength is reflected in their results. India have won 17 of their 22 one-dayers since Dravid took over last year. Also judged the best player during the home one-dayers against South Africa in 2005 and in Pakistan earlier this year, Yuvraj said the improvement had a lot to do with his thought process. “The important thing is I’ve learnt a lot. I hope to get better,” he said. In the nine tests in the 2005-06 season, he has tallied 424 runs at an average of 38.54 with one century and two fifties. India play five one-dayers and four Tests in the West Indies during a seven-week tour beginning on May 16.
Yuvraj flourishes after getting a permanent place in Test X1
(Reuters)
26 April 2006
MUMBAI — Batsman Yuvraj Singh has capitalised on the exit of former captain Saurav Ganguly from the Indian team and is now looking to carry that form into next month’s tour of West Indies.
Ganguly’s axing from the side gave Yuvraj the opportunity to bat higher in the order in one-dayers and he has flourished in his new slot.
“Earlier I batted at number six, with an asking rate of six an over and four wickets down,” Yuvraj told Reuters in a telephone interview on Monday.
“When you go out there with just the last 10 overs remaining, your job is to hit. There aren’t opportunities to build an innings.
“(Now) I’ve been focusing to bat out till the end. This has been possible because I am getting to bat high up the order.”
The 24-year-old from the northern Indian state of Punjab was adjudged player of the series for a third successive one-day series during England’s tour of India.
He scored 237 runs in six matches, including a century and a fifty, and took six wickets at an average of 30 with his probing left-arm spin.
India won the seven-match series 5-1, with the fifth match washed out.
India captain Rahul Dravid felt Yuvraj was a more seasoned cricketer now.
“He feels more relaxed because he is a regular and important member of both the test and one-day sides,” Dravid told reporters recently.
“Plus, he is batting a lot straighter. I hope he carries on like this because the way he has finished off games with (Mahendra) Dhoni and (Suresh) Raina makes for a potent combination.”
This season, the burly left-hander has scored 1,161 runs in 28 one-day innings at an impressive average of 58.05 with four centuries and six fifties.
The big scores have primarily come batting at slots three, four and five.
He has been helped in that the team has depth in batting with the maverick Dhoni, the mercurial Raina and the versatile Irfan Pathan following him in the order. The side’s all-round strength is reflected in their results. India have won 17 of their 22 one-dayers since Dravid took over last year. Also judged the best player during the home one-dayers against South Africa in 2005 and in Pakistan earlier this year, Yuvraj said the improvement had a lot to do with his thought process. “The important thing is I’ve learnt a lot. I hope to get better,” he said. In the nine tests in the 2005-06 season, he has tallied 424 runs at an average of 38.54 with one century and two fifties. India play five one-dayers and four Tests in the West Indies during a seven-week tour beginning on May 16.