Sport - Cricket

‘An even better knock’

Chennai: “He is essentially a confidence cricketer. If you instil belief in him, he can do wonders,” said Indian selection panel chairman Krishnamachari Srikkanth while talking about Yuvraj Singh, here, on Monday.

Srikkanth rated Yuvraj’s hundred in the second ODI in Indore even better than his hurricane century at Rajkot. “The pitch in Indore was slow and it was not easy to play strokes on that surface. I thought Yuvraj adapted very well to the conditions.

“His shot-selection was excellent. He also walked into a tough situation after the team had lost three quick wickets. It was a terrific performance by a match-winner.”

The selection committee chief added, “He has always been a handy bowler, especially on turning pitches. He bowls wicket-to-wicket and is not a big spinner of the ball. To his credit, Yuvraj has worked on his bowling.”

Srikkanth also had words of praise for Gautam Gambhir’s batsmanship.

“He has been an important factor in the Indian performances over the last one year. He has come on a lot as a stroke-maker, has tightened his game.”

The former Indian captain recognised the value of Yusuf Pathan’s big-hitting in the end overs.

“This is precisely why we have him down the order. These are days when one of the Power Play overs can be picked by the batting side and someone like Yusuf can change a game in a hurry.”

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