Date:15/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/15/stories/2008111561162200.htm

Sport

It is one of my best: Yuvraj

Principal Correspondent

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

TOO LATE: England captain Kevin Pietersen is caught short of the crease in the first ODI at Rajkot on Friday.

Rajkot: Yuvraj Singh termed his unbeaten 138 as one of the best innings he has played in One-Day Internationals.

“It is one of the best. I haven’t scored much in the last few games and when I went in, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had already given us a good start and at the other end Suresh Raina played some shots, so there was no pressure on me and I could settle down,” Yuvraj told the media here on Friday evening.

About the back injury that forced him to call for a runner, Yuvraj said: “I was turning for a second run off Kevin Pietersen when I felt a pull in my back and there was a lot of pain. I knew I will aggravate it if I run between wickets because of the twisting involved and I told Pietersen and he agreed. The back injury hampered my pull shot and I began to play a lot more straighter.”

Remains hopeful

Yuvraj hoped that he will be fit in time for Monday’s match in Indore. “The injury will be assessed and the physio will take a call,” he said.

Asked whether he was aware of Mohammad Azharuddin’s Indian record for the fastest ODI century off 62 balls, Yuvraj, who scored his ton off 64 deliveries, said: “I knew there was a record between 60 and 65 deliveries but I wasn’t sure and I thought it was better to score for the team rather than think about the record.”

Yuvraj also expressed surprise at the absence of Monty Panesar in the England ranks.

“You need spinners in these conditions and I am surprised that Monty isn’t here,” Yuvraj said. Meanwhile, England skipper Pietersen admitted that his team was done in by Yuvraj’s brilliance.

“When Yuvraj batted the way he did, hitting boundaries off even good balls after Sehwag and Gambhir gave them a good start, we were going to be behind. We are not going to cry over it. We will put our chins up and try and hit them hard at Indore,” Pietersen said.

Defends decision

Pietersen defended his decision to field. “I don’t think it was a bad decision. I was discussing with (M.S.) Dhoni after the game and he admitted that if anything happened, it would be in the first hour. Unfortunately it just happened for three balls.”

He also refused to make an issue out of Yuvraj using a runner. “He came to the game as a fit player and during the innings he picked up an injury. In these situations you got to trust the man and I am not going to make a storm out of it.”