Yuvraj Singh hits a six against Australia in the one-off Twenty20 International at Rajkot yesterday. Yuvraj Singh won the man-of-the-match award for his dazzling knock of 77. India won the match by six wickets.
RAJKOT: Yuvraj Singh made a fantastic comeback to the national side as he blasted his way to a 35-ball 77 to power India to a comfortable six-wicket win over Australia in the high-scoring one-off Twenty20 international yesterday.
Yuvraj forged an unbeaten 102-run stand with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who played a second-fiddle, as India chased down a huge 202-run target with two balls to spare.
Yuvraj carried his sublime form, with which he forced his way into the team, into the game as he plundered eight fours and five sixes in his 35-ball knock.
The left-hander whacked the bowlers all around the park as his trademark powerful flicks, ferocious cuts and elegantly lofted drives enthralled the packed house even as the Australians watched helplessly.
Batting like a man-possessed, Yuvraj reached his 50 with a straight six off paceman James Faulkner while Dhoni (24 off 21) finished the match with a four and couple of runs off Shane Watson.
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.
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. India batsmen made up for the poor first half with some excellent batting even though the start was not that good as Rohit Sharma (8) exited early and Suresh Raina (19) could not build on to a good start.
Since Shikhar Dhawan (32) and Virat Kohli (29) were striking the ball cleanly, India maintained a healthy run-rate but not keeping wickets did cause some anxiety. Dhawan was stumped off Xaviwer Doherty while Kohli was caught off Clint McKay even as India reached 100 in 11 overs.
Dhoni and Yuvraj then turned it on with their scintillating batting. Yuvraj hit two sixes and a four in three balls off McKay to plunder 18 runs in the 14th over.
India needed 69 runs from the last six overs but with Yuvraj in scintillating form, the hosts recorded a comfortable win. AGENCIES
