Related Links : 2nd ODI Scorecard | Yuvraj Singh
It was once again Yuvraj Singh who proved to be the nemesis of the English team. This time the southpaw not only knocked off a hundred, he even starred with the ball capturing four huge wickets to script a sensational triumph for his side. England did all it could with both ball and the bat but India was just too good for them. The homeside had passed through two difficult phases – first one when they were reduced at 29 for 3 and the second one when Flintoff and Pietersen had taken the batting powerplay for more than 50 runs. It was the magic of Yuvraj Singh both with the bat and the ball that got India through that crisis to end up with a 54-run victory in the second ODI at Indore. The huge crowd at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground would have been more than satisfied to see more than 500 runs on a wicket that threatened to explode and produce a low scoring match.
Toss: MS Dhoni won the toss this time and India was up to take first strike. Both sides remained unchanged with Yuvraj Singh recovering quickly from his back strain.
India pile up a lot of runs on a difficult pitch thanks to Yuvraj and Gambhir
As the Indian innings got underway, it was clear that this was a 240-total pitch and it needed the old traditional batting. This was something that can’t be enjoyed by the dashing strokeplayers who hate the ball stopping and coming. Within the first powerplay, India got pegged back by the wickets of Sehwag (inside edging onto the stumps), Raina (paying price for playing too early) and Rohit Sharma (surprised by a bouncer). All these three wickets went to the young and promising Stuart Broad, who figured out the best way to bowl on this pitch. India was in big trouble at 29 for 3 when the inform Yuvraj joined a disciplined Gambhir. Infact even Yuvraj showed a lot of self discipline although he was coming after a blistering hundred in the first ODI. Along with Gambhir, he made sure that they batted through the critical part and put runs on the board whenever there was a loose ball on offer.
England missed a trick and the bowlers have been inconsistent with a lot of freebie deliveries on the pads. Yuvraj got his innings going with a six off a freehit delivery but he didn’t get carried away and mixed caution with his mighty shots whenever the England bowlers were off target. While Yuvraj was stealing all the limelight, it was Gambhir who kept his end intact and rotating the strike often. Both the left handers put India back on track and a total of 240 plus was very much on the cards once these two lefties got past their half centuries. In the 30th over, England could finally put an end to the party through a freak dismissal of Gambhir, who flicked a harmless delivery back onto the stumps to miss out on a deserving hundred. Despite batting with a lot of care, Gambhir still got his 70 runs in just 76 balls with the help of six fours and a wonderful six through an inside out cover drive.
It was a 134-run stand for the fourth wicket that provided the right platform for India to press on for a huge score when the Captain MS Dhoni walked in to join Yuvraj. Dhoni (15 from 26 balls) kept the momentum going with his running between the wickets before he got cleaned up a fastish off break that went straight through from Collingwood. India took its batting powerplay at the start of the 42nd over and a lot of damage was expected from Yuvraj, who had gone past his 10th century. But Yuvraj (118 from 122 balls with 15 fours and 2 sixes) had to depart in the 44th over after edging his drive off Broad and that left Yusuf Pathan and the lower order batsmen to play the big shot in the final overs.
Even though India kept losing quickly towards the end, birthday boy Yusuf Pathan did enough carnage to smash four sixes and two fours in a brutal unbeaten knock of 50 from 29 balls! It was the maiden half century for the Baroda bomber who sent the cricket ball flying out of the ground like a small golf ball with his almighty bat swing. India closed the innings at 292 for 9, which was a lot of runs on a dry track. Stuart Broad stood out amongst the bowlers with 10-1-55-4 while Flintoff did well by hitting the blockhole quite often but could not provide any breakthroughs.
England succumb to the spin of Yuvraj
The visitors got off to a disastrous start when Ian Bell ran himself out in the 1st over itself after foolishly trying to steal a single from Suresh Raina. England felt the heat of playing out many dot balls from Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel but at the same time could build up a solid partnership from Matt Prior and Owais Shah. The Indian pacers failed to break through the 2nd wicket partnership which provided a good platform for the middle order but the required run rate was always climbing up. Once the two powerplays were out of the way, Dhoni brought in his spinners and it was Yuvraj who provided the crucial breakthroughs when he had Owais Shah (58 from 78 balls with 8 fours and a six) and Prior (38 from 64 balls with 4 fours)both misreading the arm balls and getting lbw and clean bowled respectively. England slipped to 109 for 3 in around 26 overs and the spin combination of Harbhajan and Yuvraj slowed down the run rate further to put the pressure on Pietersen and Flintoff.
Andrew Flintoff was also almost back to the pavilion but for the Umpire not picking a thin edge to the keeper off Yuvraj Singh’s bowling. In the 33rd over, Pietersen decided to take the powerplay which gave the licence to Freddie to unwind his monstrous shots. Suffering from Flintoff’s onslaught was Harbhajan Singh, who fired three quicker deliveries which were only swatted out of the park for huge sixes. The game changed its complexion after the final powerplay with England put in the hunt because of taking full toll of the field restrictions. However, once those five overs were gone, normalcy returned quickly and Yuvraj gave a double blow to knock down England totally. First it was Flintoff (43 from 35 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes), who was lbw after missing a sweep shot infront of the stumps and then KP (33 from 49 balls with 3 fours) getting bowled through the gate by one that came back with the angle and didn’t turn away as expected. It was match over at 184 for 5 in the 38th over.
The rest of the England batting just collapsed because of the tough required run rate. Virender Sehwag helped himself with three cheap wickets and England folded to 238 in 47 overs. Yuvraj Singh was the best bowler on show with 10-0-28-4. He took another bike home for his consecutive Man of the Match award. The next match is also a day encounter and is to be played on the 20th at Kanpur.