THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Last over of Uttar Pradesh-Tamil Nadu contest. The match had gone down to the wire and UP required 15 off six deliveries. Taking strike was young wicketkeeper-batsman Upendra Singh Yadav, who had been middling the ball till now.
Chasing 168, Yadav had taken his side to the verge of a win. But to clear the last hurdle, he and UP required to throw everything at left-arm pacer T Natarajan, who has the reputation of fooling batsmen with variations in pace and length.
The first delivery, Upendra hit it down the ground. There was a single in it, but the batsman turned it down. There was a sigh of consternation from a small group of spectators. How could he deny his side a run?
Yadav had other plans. The next delivery was hoisted over long-on, the fourth ball went over long-off and the fifth flew over deep mid-wicket. Greenfield had just witnessed a rare feat and in the middle of the drama was a 23-year-old, driven by passion and full of self-confidence.
It was Tamil Nadu’s first defeat in three matches in the national T20 championship for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. They are placed second in the group which has seven teams. The top two teams advance to the next stage.
Hitherto out of the radar of IPL teams, Yadav gave a glimpse of what he can do when on song. It was his 41-ball 70 that propelled his side to win on a day when the scouts of one of the IPL sides were intently watching him from the stands.
Yadav said he rejected the single as he was sure he would wrap it up. “I knew I could hit those sixes,” he told Express. This self-belief did not appear out of place. The Kanpur man had to go through the grind to learn coping with adversities. During this tournament last year, he had handled a similar situation against Karnataka. The difference is, he had failed on that occasion. “I was sad that I could not finish off the game. I made efforts to improve further and played a lot of matches. That helped me as a player,” he said.
Team manager Sanjeev Jakhmola said when Yadav was about to take strike in the final over, he was sure that he will lead the side to win. “He thrives when given responsibilities. Against Assam during the last Ranji Trophy season, he scored a ton to bat the side out of a precarious situation. He is mentally strong and mature than his age,” Sanjeev said.
Yadav is not worried about his IPL future. He said he contend with his batting and that’s paramount. “I have no tension. I am enjoying my game and that is more important.”
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 168/7 in 20 ovs (Karthik 61, Vijay 51) lost to Uttar Pradesh 174/5 in 19.5 ovs (Yadav 70).