Yuvraj and Dravid: The perfect mix of caution and aggression
There comes a time every now and then that two people get together
and change the complexion of a game. For India, it was the
unlikely pairing of Yuvraj Singh and Rahul Dravid who did the
job on the day.
The crucial eighth match of the Coca-Cola Cup saw India take on
hosts Sri Lanka in a match that they had to win if they wanted to
keep hopes of reaching the final alive. To begin with, India were
on the back foot with skipper Sourav Ganguly losing the toss to
his counterpart Sanath Jayasuriya.
Put in to bat, the Indians got off to the worst possible start,
with makeshift opener Virender Shewag being trapped plumb in front
by Chaminda Vaas off the very first ball of the match. There was
more bad luck for India soon. Sourav Ganguly, returning to the
fold after serving out a one match suspension for showing dissent
made an inglorious duck off 16 balls. Having spent a bit of time
at the wicket, the Indian captain sliced one from Vaas straight
to Kumar Sangakkara at point.
VVS Laxman (10) and Hemang Badani (2) fell to the pace of Dilhara Fernando
and India were looking down the barrel with the score on
38/4. A truly desperate situation, and one that demanded a levelheaded
approach. Rahul Dravid, putting all his experience to use, teamed up with
the youthful and aggressive Yuvraj Singh.
With the Karnataka middle order batsman sealing up one end, the youngster
from Punjab was able to go after the bowling at the
other end. The Sri Lankan bowlers did their best to dislodge the
pair as soon as a small partnership began to develop.
Showing the full face of the bat to the bowlers, Dravid saw off
the potent threat of champion offspinner Muthiah Muralitharan. At
the same time, Yuvraj Singh began to go after the mediumpacers.
Driving well on the up and through the line, Yuvraj took advantage
of any width that was on offer.
Sizzling cover drives were the order of the day, with the field
being spread every time there was a bit of width outside the off
stump. Despite a liking for the off side, Yuvraj's shot of
the day was a six over the on side. Vaas, returning for a late
spell, let go a loosener on the middle and off stump. Yuvraj,
walking down the wicket and across the stumps sent the ball
sailing over midwicket for a six.
Unfortunately, Dravid was not at the crease long enough to see
Yuvraj through to his highest ever score in international cricket. Dravid
was dismissed by Jayasuriya on 47 (122 mins, 88 balls, three
fours). Yuvraj went on to make a matchwinning 98 not out off 110
balls with six fours and one huge six.
Yuvraj walked away with the Man of the Match award alright. However,
it was the partnership of 102 runs between Dravid and Yuvraj that
came off 21.5 overs that set up the platform for a challenging
score. For that reason, it is the 5 Star Partnership of the day.
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