Singh, Yuvraj star in India’s 7-wicket win

RAJKOT—Pacer Rudra Pratap Singh struck four telling blows and Yuvraj Singh returned to form with an unbeaten 79 as India cantered to a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the sixth One-Day International here Wednesday. Mohammed Kaif chipped in with an unbeaten 38 to help India take a 5-1 lead in the seven-match series. The last match will be played at Baroda Saturday.
Left-arm pacer R. P. Singh was adjudged the Man of the Match for bowling manfully on a batsman’s pitch at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket ground. Yuvraj and Kaif — the pair that famously won the NatWest Trophy for India in 2002 in England — were associated in an 105-run unbeaten stand for the fourth wicket that sealed the win.
Captain Rahul Dravid was rested for this match as part of the new rotation policy of coach Greg Chappell while Virender Sehwag led India for the second time in his 134-match-old career and did well to marshal his resources. After being rested in the previous match, Sachin Tendulkar returned to the team, but managed just 19 as he opened the innings with Gautam Gambhir (28). Sehwag batted at number three — all part of Chappell’s bigger plans to build a team in which all batsmen are capable of batting at any position — but mustered only 22.
As regards experimentation, the former Australia captain’s plans have clicked well in this series — the third under his guidance since taking over the reins in May, following the tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. For India, the two gains from the match were the return to form of Yuvraj and career-best bowling by R.P. Singh.
Playing in only his third one-dayer, the left-armer accounted for Upul Tharanga (28), captain Marvan Atapattu (nine), Upul Chandana (30) and Ferveez Maharoof (four) to emerge as the best Indian bowler on display on a pitch that was touted as a batsman’s paradise. There was not a blade of grass on the shiny surface, but Sehwag took a surprising decision to bowl first after winning the toss.
However, R. P. Singh did not let Sehwag down as he bowled well, often generating a surprise bounce to return figures of 8.5-2-35-4. The other gain was Yuvraj’s return to form after going through five innings without a half-century. Since scoring 120 against Zimbabwe in the Videocon Cup in Harare Sep 4, the left-hander’s sequence has been: 20, 14, DNB, 18, 10 and three. Going into the Rajkot match, the Punjab batsman was under pressure, especially as Chappell wants only performers in the team. But Yuvraj rose to the occasion admirably. Although India have already wrapped up the series, he made his presence felt with his 67-ball knock. Kaif, who missed the early part of the series due to an injury, was playing his first match. He batted in his usual responsible manner and remained unbeaten in the end. After fielding brilliantly early in the day — he ran out Russel Arnold — Kaif at number four shouldered the responsibility well. For Sri Lanka, there were few gains from the match. Dilshan was the highest scorer with 59 — the only half-century of the innings. He was batting well, but was eventually run out by a brilliant throw from Yuvraj. In the bowling department, all six Sri Lankans got the stick by a resurgent Indian team now playing with newfound confidence.—Agencies