Yuveraj puts it beyond Lankans

By S. Dinakar

COLOMBO, AUG. 1. After despair, there was joy. India re- discovered a batting match- winner just when everything appeared lost, the bowlers turned on the heat, and a `do or die' battle was won.

Inspired by dashing southpaw Yuveraj Singh's dazzling unbeaten 98, India, staring down the barrel at 38 for four, rose from the ashes to finally triumph by 46 runs.

At the Sinhalese Sports Club Stadium, here, on Wednesday, India made a respectable 227 in the allotted 50 overs, and then dismissed the home team for 181 with 25 balls remaining in the contest.

However, the Indian team, that now has four points from five games, will have to defeat New Zealand, equal on points but possessing a better head to head record, at the same venue in the last league game on Thursday.

``I am happy to have proved a lot of people wrong,'' Yuveraj, who has come under fire from the media in recent times, said after a fulfilling knock. Success after periods of frustration always tastes sweeter.

Skipper Ganguly lauded Yuveraj for his heroic knock and added the side was fired up to win Thursday's game. The captain suffered a bout of cramps in his calf during the climactic stages of the game, but will be fit for the next game.

With the spirited batting recovery boosting their spirits, the Indian seamers harried the Lankan openers with their pace, bounce and movement. However, India's first breakthrough came in the form of a run-out, Harbhajan, firing in a throw from square-leg, hitting the stumps, and catching Romesh Kaluwitharana, who had initially set out for a run only to find non-striker Jayasuriya not responding, short.

Zaheer was to strike the next blow, bowling an off- stump line, extracting bounce, and winning a caught-behind verdict against Marvan Atapattu, who appeared a touch unhappy at the dismissal. Lanka was seven for two and India had struck early.

Jayasuriya hammered a couple of typically powerful blows, but his uppish flick off Nehra was well taken by Dravid at short mid- wicket, who threw himself to his right, and held on to the ball as if for dear life after it had momentarily slipped out of his hands. The decision was referred to the third umpire Wijewardene, who ruled in India's favour. The decisive moment of the encounter.

Lanka's last match hero, Mahela Jayawardene, should have perished with his score on eight, but Laxman put down a simple catch at first slip after Nehra had found the edge.

Jayawardene went on to make 34 (78b, 3x4) before his overambitious heave towards the on-side against Sourav Ganguly resulted in his stumps being re-arranged. He had struck the earlier ball in the same direction for a boundary.

The Indian captain, who turned in a fine spell of medium pace bowling, bowling straight and not providing any width to the batsmen, had earlier trapped Russell Arnold (21, 45b, 1x4) leg- before, the batsman shaping to play across the line, and being struck right in front. Arnold had survived a vociferous caught- behind shout off the previous delivery and Ganguly let off steam after nailing the batsman with his next ball. Having run into problems with Match Referee, he is walking on thin ice.

At the 30-over mark, the Lankan score was 100 for five, which meant the side had an uphill battle ahead. The Lankans could not get any worthwhile partnership going, losing key wickets at regular intervals. Kumara Sangakkara, back in the side at the expense of Avishka Gunawardene, produced a couple of pretty shots, but Nehra castled the southpaw, slanting one in from over- the-wicket and beating the batsman's airy push. Lanka had lost its last specialist batsman at 109.

The free-stroking Suresh Perera (30, 46b, 1x6, 1x4) clouted offie Virender Sehwag for a straight six, but after being put down by a diving Amay Khurasia off Sodhi at the square-leg fence, was taken by Harbhjan Singh at long-off, Zaheer being the bowler. The Lankan challenge was virtually over at this point.

Kumara Dharmasena, played Zaheer to mid-off, took off for a single, slipped, and was hopelessly short of his ground, when Dravid sent in a throw to the striker's end. Muralitharan's was pouched at deep mid-off, Agarkar being the bowler, and Vaas struck Sodhi for a six, but soon his lofted hit off Nehra was pocketed by Harbhajan Singh at deep long-off. The match was won and the Indians were celebrating.

Early setbacks

Jayasuriya's intentions were clear after he called right-he would put India in. There was a cloud cover and the SSC pitch too had something in it for the pacemen.

And there was reward from him immediately when Chaminda Vaas, breathing fire, trapped Virender Sehwag leg before with the first ball of the match, the batsman outside the line, the delivery straightening to strike him in front of the wicket.

There has surely been more bite in the Lankan opening attack, since the red-hot Dilhara Fernando took the new ball along with Vaas, with the experience of Vaas and Fernando's raw aggression complementing each other.

Ganguly, back after serving a one-match suspension, struggled, not getting off the mark in 15 balls, and departing after 16th, unable to keep his cut down and seeing Kumara Sangakkara take a lovely, low catch at point. The captain's idea was right against the short delivery, but the execution was wrong.

V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid, the key pair in the middle-order, did raise hopes, the former imperiously pulling Fernando, and the latter, going down on his knees and coaxing the same bowler through the covers, a shot of rare beauty.

Laxman, however, departed with his score on 10, checking his drive against Fernando's slower deliver, an off- cutter, and a gleeful Jayasuriya completed the catch running to his left from mid-off.

Hemang Badani, walking in with the Indian score at 31 for three, succumbed to the pressure situation, slashing at a widish delivery from Fernando for Jayawardene to take a head-high blinder at first slip. Things were certainly looking bleak for the Indians at 38 for four.

In walked Yuveraj to join forces with a battling Dravid. It was a demanding situation. However, cometh the moment, cometh the man they say and with adversity stoking his combative instincts, Yuveraj proceeded to play the kind of innings that could have a significant bearing on his career.

Yuveraj may have survived a close leg-before shout against Suresh Perera, but showed character, driving the paceman through the covers in the same over.

The first spells of Vaas (6-1-16-2) and Fernando (7-1- 25-2) were impressive but Perera was erratic on the day, going for 20 runs in his three overs, and the ineffectiveness of the third seamer, meant Jayasuriya had a problem on his hand.

The fifty arrived in 14.5 overs, and here we had a brief interruption of 15 minutes when light showers held up play. With Vaas and Perera finishing their spells, Muttiah Muralitharan was the chief threat now.

Dravid too played his part, guiding Yuveraj through a stormy stage, shielding him from Muralitharan, before the Punjab batsman could find his feet. Yuveraj has had his share of problems against the ace offie in the past and it was intelligent cricket from the vice-captain.

Gradually the runs started to come freely, Dravid pulling Dharmasena to the fence-the ball flew dangerously close to a diving Sangakkara at mid-wicket-and Yuveraj rocking back and crashing the support off spinner through the covers.

The youngster, growing in confidence, progressed to his first half-century since the ICC Knock-out tournament against Australia, lofting part-time off-spinner Arnold over the mid- wicket fence (50, 67b, 4x4). Yuveraj has a tendency to fall over slightly when he leans on to his front foot, but such was his timing on this day that he struck the ball sweetly into the gaps.

The fifth wicket pair had realised 102 crucial runs in 131 balls when Jayasuriya produced the breakthrough with a fine piece of bowling. The left-armer's delivery spun sharply away from the right-hander, and Dravid (47, 88b, 3x4), lured into stepping down to drive, was stumped by Kaluwitharana.

Yuveraj and new man Reetinder Singh Sodhi kept up the tempo with some bright strokeplay although the Sardar was reprieved early on when Dharmasena could not latch on to a low return catch.

Then came the shot of the innings, Yuveraj flicking Vaas over mid-wicket for a six when the paceman returned for a fresh spell. It was so easily executed, revealing the class in the youngster. At the other end, Sodhi launched into Dharmasena, driving him straight.

Sodhi had made a brisk 30 (37b, 1x4) raising 57 for the sixth wicket in 62 balls with Yuveraj when he was done in by a sharp off-break from Muralitharan. The off-spin genius turned in a superb performance, bringing his exotic bag of tricks into play, the sharp off-break, the one spinning away, the one coming in with the arm. It was Muralitharan's canny bowling that put a check on the Indian run-rate in the final overs.

Fernando had Dighe caught behind, Muralitharan was too clever for Harbhajan's swipe, and Yuveraj, now battling with a strained left-hamstring that brought Indian physio Andrew Liepus to the ground, moved close to his hundred slamming Fernando through the covers. In the final over, Yuveraj made room to pull Fernando past the ropes, and required four off the final delivery to reach his century. He managed two, but it did not matter really. He had done his job.

As Yuveraj hobbled back to the dressing room, his sense of achievement masking the pain, he returned to a rousing reception from his team-mates. After the disappointments of the last few months, the southpaw's career was back on the road again.

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