Aussies destroyed at YuvRajkot

It was one of those rare days when Dhoni played second fiddle as Yuvraj powered India to a six wicket victories over Australia.

“Who writes your script?” A bewildered Graham Gooch had asked Ian Botham after the latter equalled the then world record for maximum Test wickets with his first ball after coming back from a three-month ban in 1986. After Thursday, Indian cricket fans can ask the same question to Yuvraj Singh. It was only due to the comeback man’s dazzling innings that India won Thursday’s T20 against Australia after looking like losing it for most part of the evening.

A rapid Australian start, some mid-innings violence by Glenn Maxwell and Aron Finch’s controlled aggression had put the visitors in an enviable position after the first half. India needed a profitable Power Play, a couple of substantial knocks and at least one big partnership to make a match of it and got none of them until halfway through the innings before

Yuvraj and Mahendra Singh Dhoni came together. It was one of those rare days when the Indian skipper was reduced to playing the role of spectator from the other end as Yuvraj powered India to what looked like a comfortable win in the end.

Things looked bad for India when Virat Kohli became the fourth man to fall in the 12th over with the total reading 100. They couldn’t afford to lose more wickets and also had to score at a rate they had not achieved earlier in the innings. This was when Yuvraj decided it was going to be his day. Back in the side after being dropped in January, he clipped a couple of deliveries over mid-wicket to announce his intent and then started driving straight and past extra-cover with awesome power and timing.

Due to his savage assault, a task that was looking daunting till the 15th over became a possibility in a matter of two more overs before it became clear by the end of the 18th that India were going to win. Yuvraj and Dhoni added 102 in 8.3 overs with the captain contributing just 24. Not always do you see Dhoni playing second fiddle, but then, who writes Yuvraj’s script? Always a match-winner but not necessarily a regular member of the side, he couldn’t have returned in more emphatic manner.

There can be two varieties of fireworks from the perspective of spectators in T20 cricket. One sends them into a state of delirium and the other numbs them into silence. For the 28,000 packing the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, the second was on offer for a better part of the day.

They were quiet for most part of the Indian innings as well until Yuvraj breathed life into the gathering. The fireworks he started were matched by those set off by the organisers after the match. It was a cracking tribute to a breathtaking comeback. Whoever wrote the script, couldn’t have chosen a better ending.

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