Comeback man Yuvraj scripts easy win for India

Comeback man Yuvraj scripts easy win for India

In an absolutely high-scoring game of T20 cricket at Rajkot, which was only T20 game between India and Australia, saw blitzcreig effort by Yuvraj to see India home.

A T20 game where more than 400 runs are scored, watching blisstering hitting from both sides at Rajkot, India were rescued by Yuvraj's comeback innings. What was amazing to see was the way he batted, throughout his innings, it felt like he was not out of the game till recent. Shikar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Virat Kolhi did the power-packing the start for Indian inning's with almost 100 runs in first 10 overs. And Dhoni's smart and thoughtful batting along with Yuvraj, kept India's hope high for a win.

Australia last won a match in India (apart from WC games) on November 8th 2009. Since then they have lost 6 Tests and drawn none, lost the only 2 completed ODIs (

3 abandoned) and a T20. Not a great record.

 

Aaron Finch had powered Australia to a challenging 201 for seven with his blistering 89-run knock off 52-ball as visiting batsmen made merry on a flat wicket after being invited to bat at SCA stadium. Finch plundered 15 boundaries, including a six, as he anchored the Australian innings while debutant Nic Maddinson (34) and Glenn Maxwell (27) also played more than handful knocks for their side. James Faulkner struck a last-ball six to guide his team to a go past the 200-run mark figure.

Everybody loves to see Yuvraj Singh do well. Be it cricket or life, he has always fought hard and come back stronger than before.                                      

     

Australian stand-in captain George Bailey has expressed his concern over Indian 'comeback star' Yuvraj Singh ahead of the limited-overs series. The Aussies have identified Yuvraj Singh as a major threat as they do not need any reminding of this smashing batsman’s talent.

Australia vs India Super Eight T20 Match Preview

India vs. Australia Super Eight T20 match is among the most crucial match of this tournament. After the comprehensive victory against England and Harbhajan Singh`s brilliant comeback has raised questions as to what exactly will be a winning combination against George Bailey`s men who have looked good in both their group league matches against Ireland and West Indies respectively. Australia would love to prove to the world that it has not lost its winning touch and that despite being placed at the bottom in Twenty20 world cricket, they have the same flair and touch of invincibility as before.

India, on the other hand will try to come with similar performance they came against England. India won the most convincing match in this tournament against any super-8 team. Indian batting was impeccable and bowling was superb. Even the fielding against England was exceptional and that contributed to a great extent in winning the one-sided tournament.

India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni indicated Thursday that he would be going in with five bowlers against Australia in Friday’s crucial Super Eights match of the World Twenty20 tournament, a move which will mean that India will have one batsman short. India are likely to go in with five specialist bowlers to plug their bowling loopholes when they take on the mighty Australians in its opening `Super Eight` fixture of the ICC World Twenty20 on Friday.

In that case, either opener Virender Sehwag or Yuvraj Singh may have to sit out of the match and Dhoni admitted that it would be a "tough decision". It will be interesting to see what bowling combination Dhoni would prefer for the first `super eight` game and whether he would opt for three spinners or three pacers. On current form, Lakshmipathy Balaji is a better bowler at the death overs than the 33-year-old Zaheer Khan mainly because of the variety of slower deliveries he bowls.

The two key batsmen in the Australian set-up are left-handers David Warner and Mike Hussey. The presence of the duo at the top of the order certainly means that Harbhajan`s inclusion is necessary because of his stupendous record against the left-handers. Ravichandran Ashwin, who was rested against England, will also make a comeback into the playing eleven and Irfan Pathan, who has been providing the team with breakthroughs regularly is certain to play in eleven. The batting, however, bears a much more settled look with the good news being that Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma are back among runs. The only thing to worry will be Yuvraj Singh`s place in batting order. The talented left-hander has been struggling with the bat.

The main threat for India will be all-rounder Shane Watson who is in prime form having won back-to-back MoM awards. Watson has been cleverly used by skipper Bailey as he has proved to be a potent partnership breaker. The Indian batsmen will need to be careful against Watson. Left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc can prove to be a handful but it will be chinaman bowler Brad Hogg who will need to play a big role. The only problem for Australia will be its middle-order which hasn`t been tested in the two matches which were single-handedly won by Watson. The all-rounder has taken full advantage of the Powerplay overs to slaughter the bowlers. With Warner and Hussey for company, the `terrific trio` make up for a superb top-order.

Key players

Australia: Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, David Warner, Brad Hogg, Pat Cummins 

India: Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj, Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin.

A LOOK AT INDIAN SQUAD FOR NZ HOME SERIES AND T20 WORLD CUP

Indian Cricket Squad for NZ Home Series and upcoming T20 World Cup has been declared. The most-awaited name was Yuvraj Singh, who earned Indian fans heart and man of the series in World Cup 2011 and his famous six sixes of Stuart Board are still lively in fans mind. So, finally Yuvraj Singh is fit and ready to come-back from cancer treatment. Yuvraj Singh seems to be getting fitter and leaner as his first international outing approaches. 

Yuvraj is back to cricket with T20 World Cup

Yuvraj has been picked to play in the two T20 matches against New Zealand next month and the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka that follows. The fans are overwhelmed with the comeback of Yuvraj Singh. The Man of the tournament of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has played the role of an all-rounder in crucial tournaments and he would be desperate to be among the runs on the Lankan soil. The dashing southpaw underwent chemotherapy in the United States before returning to India in April and was included in India's preliminary 30-man squad for the Sept 18-Oct 7 tournament in Sri Lanka.

Our very own fab-four veteran batsman VVS Laxman retained his place in the Indian Test squad for the two-match series against New Zealand, starting August 23 in Hyderabad despite his poor show in the last eight Tests in England and Australia. Sachin Tendulkar will be back in action after his two-month break, having skipped the limited overs series in Sri Lanka recently, while young batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has predictably got the nod as replacement for the retired Rahul Dravid in the longer version.

The most surprising pick has been Piyush Chawla's inclusion in T20 World Cup squad. The surprise pick certainly is leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, who last played for India in the 2011 World Cup and since then has been confined to the sidelines. Gautam Gambhir, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh are the seven players who were a part of the Indian squad that won the maiden T20 World Cup organised in Johannesburg in 2007.

The announcement would have come as a huge relief for two players-Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma. Bhajji went into hibernation after his struggle in the Indian Premier League where he failed both as the Mumbai Indians' skipper and as a spin bowler. The ‘Turbanator’ had earlier failed to impress in the away series in England and thus the selectors had no other choice but to drop him.

Rohit Sharma, despite his failures, has once again retained his place which could have been given to the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu. Sharma’s body language these days is enough to suggest the kind of form he is in. The selectors could have easily replaced him with Rahane, who was the highlight of IPL 2012.

Manoj Tiwary has capitalised the few opportunities which have come his way and has been rewarded for his patience as well as consistency. While the selectors should be hailed for their decision to prioritise Tiwary over Yusuf, one might wonder if they have missed a trick by not including Ambati Rayudu. The right-hander who has been consistent for the Mumbai Indians in IPL was in contention for a place in the shorter format of the game.

But the biggest shocker has come with the selection of Piyush Chawla. One can understand that the selectors wanted a leg-spinner to add variety, but for that purpose Pragyan Ojha would have been a better choice.

Indian Cricket Team in new T20 Jersey

 First Indian Cricket will take on New Zealand as the first home series of the season - against New Zealand - beginning with the Test match at Hyderabad on August 23. The visitors will play one more Test at Bangalore before ending their tour with two T20 Internationals at Vizag and Chennai. This will be followed by the ICC World T20 Championship in Sri Lanka from September 18 to October 7. The season will continue with the visit by England and Australia before the IPL.

India Test squad: MS Dhoni (c), Virender  Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina

India T20 squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, L Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Dinda.