11:19 AM
Editor
It was a second successive day of R & R for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s boys as they took Tuesday also off, to recover physically and mentally from the exertions of Sunday night’s draining tied encounter with England.
India’s next match isn’t until next Sunday, also at the Chinnaswamy stadium, against Ireland, so there is enough time for the team to shake off the after-effects of the England clash and gradually build themselves up for a match they are universally expected to win with plenty to spare.
Apart from recouping and regrouping, India will also have used the last couple of days to introspect and revisit game plans. Both the bowling and the fielding are very obvious problem areas; indeed, there were few positives India can take from the second half against England, when they failed to defend a massive 338 and were forced to settle for just a share of the points.
If there was one reason for optimism, if not rejoicing, it was the all-round performance of Yuvraj Singh. It’s no secret that when on song, the beefy left-hander is among the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. An imperious, imposing presence at the crease, he can pulverise the best in the world when his confidence is high, when the mind is uncluttered, and when the fear of injury has been banished beyond the sub-conscious.
When overcome by seeds of self-doubt, however, the 29-year-old can give the impression that he doesn’t care a fig. That is, of course, far from the truth, but when there is so much emphasis on body language and people equate commitment and hunger with how much ‘spirit’ one shows on the field, people have found it easy to brand Yuvraj as lazy, unambitious and easily satisfied.
The one-time vice-captain had a horror 2010, injuries, illness and inopportune loss of form costing him not just his Test place but temporarily making him superfluous to the limited-overs scheme of things as well. Being dropped from the Asia Cup squad would have hurt him the most; he was, after all, considered a one-day specialist for the longest of times, and to be left out of the one-day side, therefore, was a massive setback.
It wasn’t long before he reclaimed his place in the 50-over squad, his utility to the team in all three departments making it impossible to ignore his claims with any consistency.
On Sunday at the Chinnaswamy stadium, he batted with a freedom and purpose of old, bowled as well as could be expected on a track that had nothing for him against a marauding set of batsmen and, most hearteningly, fielded with a zeal and resolve that have been missing for a while now.
Apart from his blistering batting which he showcased in his first hit in international cricket, against Australia in the ICC KnockOut Trophy in Nairobi, Yuvraj made an instant impact with his electric fielding on his debut in 2000. The teenager was quick across the turf, unafraid to throw himself around, had a strong arm and hit the stumps more often than he missed. He was not quite India’s answer to Jonty Rhodes at point, but a dangerous, lurking presence nevertheless, in his own right.
Injuries, more than the passage of time, have contributed to the eroding of his fielding persona. He is no longer the terrier he used to be, groundspeed a huge casualty following the knee injury of 2006 that still necessitates him to sport a brace. Indeed, from the lithe, agile entity, he had lapsed into a lumbering presence but in the last few months, there have been enough indications that while Yuvraj will never reclaim his glory days as a fielder, he is now a vastly improved version of the ponderous fielder of the preceding three years.
It’s no secret that India are extremely light on fielding. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, the latter struggling to break into the playing eleven, are the torch-bearers; most of the rest wouldn’t be out of place in a Sunday club game. The re-emergence of Yuvraj the point-man, to go with his regal batting and canny left-arm spin, is a vital, welcome positive as the World Cup gradually progresses towards its business end.
Apart from recouping and regrouping, India will also have used the last couple of days to introspect and revisit game plans. Both the bowling and the fielding are very obvious problem areas; indeed, there were few positives India can take from the second half against England, when they failed to defend a massive 338 and were forced to settle for just a share of the points.
If there was one reason for optimism, if not rejoicing, it was the all-round performance of Yuvraj Singh. It’s no secret that when on song, the beefy left-hander is among the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. An imperious, imposing presence at the crease, he can pulverise the best in the world when his confidence is high, when the mind is uncluttered, and when the fear of injury has been banished beyond the sub-conscious.
When overcome by seeds of self-doubt, however, the 29-year-old can give the impression that he doesn’t care a fig. That is, of course, far from the truth, but when there is so much emphasis on body language and people equate commitment and hunger with how much ‘spirit’ one shows on the field, people have found it easy to brand Yuvraj as lazy, unambitious and easily satisfied.
The one-time vice-captain had a horror 2010, injuries, illness and inopportune loss of form costing him not just his Test place but temporarily making him superfluous to the limited-overs scheme of things as well. Being dropped from the Asia Cup squad would have hurt him the most; he was, after all, considered a one-day specialist for the longest of times, and to be left out of the one-day side, therefore, was a massive setback.
It wasn’t long before he reclaimed his place in the 50-over squad, his utility to the team in all three departments making it impossible to ignore his claims with any consistency.
On Sunday at the Chinnaswamy stadium, he batted with a freedom and purpose of old, bowled as well as could be expected on a track that had nothing for him against a marauding set of batsmen and, most hearteningly, fielded with a zeal and resolve that have been missing for a while now.
Apart from his blistering batting which he showcased in his first hit in international cricket, against Australia in the ICC KnockOut Trophy in Nairobi, Yuvraj made an instant impact with his electric fielding on his debut in 2000. The teenager was quick across the turf, unafraid to throw himself around, had a strong arm and hit the stumps more often than he missed. He was not quite India’s answer to Jonty Rhodes at point, but a dangerous, lurking presence nevertheless, in his own right.
Injuries, more than the passage of time, have contributed to the eroding of his fielding persona. He is no longer the terrier he used to be, groundspeed a huge casualty following the knee injury of 2006 that still necessitates him to sport a brace. Indeed, from the lithe, agile entity, he had lapsed into a lumbering presence but in the last few months, there have been enough indications that while Yuvraj will never reclaim his glory days as a fielder, he is now a vastly improved version of the ponderous fielder of the preceding three years.
It’s no secret that India are extremely light on fielding. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, the latter struggling to break into the playing eleven, are the torch-bearers; most of the rest wouldn’t be out of place in a Sunday club game. The re-emergence of Yuvraj the point-man, to go with his regal batting and canny left-arm spin, is a vital, welcome positive as the World Cup gradually progresses towards its business end.
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