A touch of Brian Lara

[jacky007]

Perhaps the best compliment for Yuvraj Singh, who played one of the finest innings under pressure you can hope to see, would be that he had a touch of Brian Lara. There was the same high backlift, with the bat flowing down from the eye level, the quick hands, malleable wrists, sensational timing and perfect placement. To top it all, there was the part that couldn't be seen, only sensed: the ability to create a bubble where the external factors - a fresh pitch with a tinge of green, the hole that his team was in when he walked in, and the fact that he was playing for Test spot - ceased to matter. Yuvraj and Sourav Ganguly, for whom no praise can be too high, did for India what Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have long been renowned for doing, but it will be no discredit to Ganguly to say Yuvraj's brilliance shaded his second successive hundred. Not that he would have grudged it a whit: his eyes shone brighter when he celebrated his team-mate's century than when he reached his own. No one present at the ground, even his opponents, could stay untouched by the breathtaking majesty of this innings. At lunch, Indian would have felt a touch despondent. They had won the toss and chosen to bat knowing that the pitch, which had been under covers for the best part of the last few days, would be soft and offer seam movement. But given their reliance on spin, in the absence of a full-strength pace bowling attack, it was the only option available. Pakistan's bowlers wasted the first hour somewhat by either spraying the ball wide or bowling too short, but Yasir Arafat changed the course by introducing commonsense, and bowling close to the stumps. At 61 for 4, India were in the danger of having to bowl with the second new ball of the day. Two significant things happened after lunch. Shoaib Akhtar - is he Pakistan's biggest match-winner or their biggest liability? - went off clutching his back. Far more importantly for India, Yuvraj batted like a dream. He was hit on the head once and played and missed outside off-stump a couple of times, and there was an edge off Danish Kaneria that Younis Khan put down but, rather than being intimidated by the situation, he chose to trust his game. He melted the pressure by allowing himself the freedom to play his strokes and by tea it was the bowling side that looked hunted. Yuvraj's driving on the offside was sensational, both off the front and back foot, and the bowlers were clueless about what length to bowl to him. Some cover drives were played with the full flourish of the bat and some were punched exquisitely. Initially, Mohammed Sami and Arafat tried to cramp him by bowling straight and he either punched them down the ground or picked them through midwicket, generating velocity with his back-lift and wrists. Ganguly kept him company by piercing the offside either side of the cover fielder and the 127 runs they scored in the middle session changed the course of the innings. After tea, Pakistan were reduced to damage control. Sami sought to deny Yuvraj by bowling a couple of feet outside off stump while Kaneria chose to bowl his googlies from outside leg. And two men were stationed behind square on the leg side for the top-edge to the occasional bouncer. Yuvraj refused to be baited but neither did he slow down. He stayed away from the wide balls but put away everything in driving range. When the sweeper was posted at cover, he still managed to hit the ball wide of him; his only pull was hit through midwicket, all along the ground. As the day progressed and the pitch eased, fours became inevitable, irrespective of the bowler and the field. At the end of his innings, his wagon wheel offered evidence of his all-round domination: 92 on the onside, 77 on the off, 50 between point and cover, 37 between square leg and midwicket. Ten of his 28 fours were hit though cover and five through midwicket. The innings was littered with dazzling strokes but a couple will stay in the mind. The first was a mere push, perhaps a defensive jab, at a full ball from Sami; such was the balance and timing that the ball sped past a bemused mid-on fielder to the boundary. The second was a back-foot cover drive to a ball from Arafat that deserved nothing more than a dead bat. By then, though, Yuvraj was long past his hundred and the merit of the ball had ceased to be of consequence. At that supreme moment, you felt in awe of the batsman but it was difficult not to feel sorry for the bowler. To Indian fans who have long been riled by the tendency of Pakistan's batsmen to reserve their best for India - Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad have been succeeded by Kamran Akmal (three of his four Test hundreds against India) and Salman Butt (all his four one-day hundreds) - Yuvraj's third Test century against the old enemy would seem soothing retribution. That might be missing the story, because of far more significance is another common thread: each of these centuries have come when his team was in desperate trouble. On a green top at Lahore in 2004, India were 94 for 4 and 147 for 7; at Karachi in 2006, they were 74 for 4 and Mohammed Asif was in the middle of a dream spell, having knocked out Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman in quick succession. To each crisis Yuvraj has offered his fulsome and natural brilliance. His stroke-making has always expectional, but his three Test centuries have demonstrated that he has that special ability to play them all when the chips are down. His latest hundred has given the Indian management a happy headache. They will have one hell of a decision to make when they sit down to pick the team for the next Test, in Australia. Despite his outstanding run in the shorter version of the game, doubts have lingered over the suitability of his technique and temperament for cricket's most challenging form. Yuvraj has banished those misgivings with an innings of such force and pedigree that to keep him out would be a brave decision - and may ultimately be a foolish one. There is plenty left in this Test yet, but Yuvraj's innings is potentially series-clinching for India. For himself, it could turn out to be career-changing. Sambit Bal is the editor of Cricinfo © Cricinfo

[Cricketics]

as much as Yuvi might take it as a compliment.. tell u wat. Yuvraj has his own class.. he has his own elegance.. in Odi Cricket perhapz Yuvraj is better then Lara too..

[Ram]

Oh, I would pay a million bucks for that back life alone !

[Donny]

Back life, mm ? Into reincarnation, I see. :regular_smile:

[bharat297]

Thats the last thing Yuvraj needed ... a boost to his ego after 1 innings. Chappell crushed FIGJAMs ego 2 years ago when he left him out of the ODI side, and has said "Yuvraj thinks he is a star, when he is only a rising one" ... Yuvraj responded with 2 years of consistent form in ODIs. Now if idiots like Sambit Lal feed his ego before his Test career even gets off the ground, it could derail him. For India's sake, lets hope that doesnt happen. An excellent innings yesterday no doubt ... a fantastic one ... but so far thats just 1 ... he needs to keep doing this sort of stuff more regularly in order to cement a middle order position.

[Guest Hiten.]

Thats the last thing Yuvraj needed ... a boost to his ego after 1 innings. Chappell crushed FIGJAMs ego 2 years ago when he left him out of the ODI side, and has said "Yuvraj thinks he is a star, when he is only a rising one" ... Yuvraj responded with 2 years of consistent form in ODIs. Now if idiots like Sambit Lal feed his ego before his Test career even gets off the ground, it could derail him. For India's sake, lets hope that doesnt happen. An excellent innings yesterday no doubt ... a fantastic one ... but so far thats just 1 ... he needs to keep doing this sort of stuff more regularly in order to cement a middle order position.

totally agree. No comparisons as of yet. Heck, I say compare him with lara or whoever you want after he retires :D

[ludhianvi]

as much as Yuvi might take it as a compliment.. tell u wat. Yuvraj has his own class.. he has his own elegance.. in Odi Cricket perhapz Yuvraj is better then Lara too..

very true, Yuvi has his own style. Lara's and Yuvi's style are a bit different IMO.

[kabira]

>Thats the last thing Yuvraj needed ... a boost to his ego after 1 innings. Chappell crushed FIGJAMs ego 2 years ago when he left him out of the ODI side, and has said "Yuvraj thinks he is a star, when he is only a rising one" ... Yuvraj responded with 2 years of consistent form in ODIs. Now if idiots like Sambit Lal feed his ego before his Test career even gets off the ground, it could derail him. For India's sake, lets hope that doesnt happen. The guy has matured ever since. His non selection as captain of India for ODIs and 20-20, did not create any ego situation. He has been team man. He knows he has to perform consistently in Tests as competition in MO is all time high.

[Predator_05]

Now if idiots like Sambit Lal feed his ego before his Test career even gets off the ground' date=' it could derail him. For India's sake, lets hope that doesnt happen..[/quote'] Yeah, i am sure Yuvraj reads every single column written on him by Sambit Bal and remarks to himself; "Damn, i sure am good !". :confused_smile: Your opinion on Yuvraj is always a crock of sh it. Seriously, why do you bother ?

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

Yuvraj singh with his backlift does remind me of Lara but their style is diff but both are as elegant as it gets..

[bharat297]

I wouldnt call Yuvraj elegant ... he is entertaining ... he is more swashbuckling then elegant. I class people like Mark Waugh, Michael Vaughan, Sourav Ganguly , VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer as being elegant batsman as they barely tapped the ball and it just races away. I guess its a subjective thing but I would say Yuvraj's style is more about power and dominance than elegance.

[bharat297]

Yeah, i am sure Yuvraj reads every single column written on him by Sambit Bal and remarks to himself; "Damn, i sure am good !". :confused_smile: Your opinion on Yuvraj is always a crock of sh it. Seriously, why do you bother ?

LOL ... :hysterical: Why do I bother? What kind of an idiot question is that? Someone put up a thread so people can express their opinions. Seriously man what is wrong with you? That is twice now on Yuvraj related threads that when I have been expressing my opinions you have taken it personally and either insulted me or tried to devalue my opinion. Honestly mate, you have to learn to grow up and accept that not everyones opinion is going to be the same about everyone. But that doesnt mean one persons is rubbish and anothers is correct , its generally a subjective thing. My opinion, based on what I have seen (from meeting him personally), and read about Yuvraj is that he has a bit of an ego problem. Now I only met him 4 years ago, and since then the guy has matured and it seems he is much more of a team player. I am only kidding when I give him names like "FIGJAM" and that. I have my own opinion of Yuvraj, you don't have to agree with me and quite frankly I don't give a damn if you do. However, on the other hand, if I dont agree with your opinions about Yuvraj, then you seem to get very upset. Calm down.