When it comes to lazy elegance, nobody can compete with Yuvraj Singh.
He was in full swing at the Sardar Patel Stadium against Pakistan, ensuring India level the T-20 series 1-1.
Yuvraj’s 72 of 36 balls set India on a strong pedestal and Team India used that to their advantage.
Chasing India’s 192 for five, Pakistan manage to score 181 for seven.
The visiting team’s openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad start off brightly and had registered 48 runs in five overs when R. Ashwin applied the pressure.
The experienced pair of Mohammad Hafeez (55) and Umar Akmal joined hands to ensure that Pakistan stayed in the hunt.
Earlier, Hafeez’s luck with the toss continued and he opted to field first.
The Indian openers display urgency on a batting track.
Scoreboard:
India: G. Gambhir lbw b Gul 21 (11b, 4×4), A. Rahane c & b Gul 28 (26b, 4×4), V. Kohli (run out) 27 (22b, 3×4), Yuvraj c Malik b Gul 72 (36b, 4×4, 7×6), M.S. Dhoni b Gul 33 (23b, 4×4), S. Raina (not out) 1 (1b), Rohit Sharma (not out) 4 (1b); Extras (lb-5, nb-1): 6; Total (for five wkts. in 20 overs): 192.
Fall of wickets: 1- 44 (Gambhir), 2-53 (Rahane), 3-88 (Kohli), 4-185 (Yuvraj), 5-187 (Dhoni).
Pakistan bowling: Irfan 4-0-20-0, Tanvir 4-0-44-0, Gul 4-0-37-4, Ajmal 4-0-42-0, Afridi 3-0-33-0, Hafeez 1-0-11-0.
Pakistan: N. Jamshed c Kohli b Ashwin 41 (32b, 4×4, 1×6), A. Shehzad st. Dhoni b Yuvraj 31 (29b, 3×4, 1×6), U. Akmal b Dinda 24 (17b, 1×4, 1×6), M. Hafeez c Raina b Dinda 55 (26b, 6×4, 3×6), S. Afridi c Rohit b Bhuvneshwar 11 (5b, 1×4, 1×6), K. Akmal c Kohli b Dinda 5 (3b, 1×4), S. Malik (not out) 3 (3b), U. Gul c Rahane b Ishant 5 (5b, 1×4); Extras (lb-2, w-4): 6. Total (for seven wkts. in 20 overs): 181.
Fall of wickets: 1-74 (Jamshed), 2-84 (Shehzad), 3-146 (U. Akmal), 4-163 (Afridi), 5-168 (Hafeez), 6-172 (K. Akmal), 7- 181 (Gul).
India bowling: Bhuvneshwar 4-0-46-1, Ishant 4-0-34-1, Dinda 4-0-36-3, Ashwin 4-0-28-1, Raina 2-0-12-0, Yuvraj 2-0-23-1.
Man-of-the-match: Yuvraj Singh.