Yuvraj Singh made a brilliant comeback into first-class arena as he smashed an unbeaten century for North Zone against Central Zone on the first day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal on Sunday.
At stumps, North were in a commanding position, having scored 346/4, riding on Yuvraj’s superb unbeaten 133 while skipper Shikhar Dhawan also made his presence felt with an innings of 121. Yuvraj’s innings will certainly end any doubts whatsoever about his fitness and ability to withstand the rigours of longer version of the game after recovering from rare germ cell cancer.
He played only 152 deliveries during his knock and hit 20 boundaries and two huge sixes off veteran India discard Murali Kartik. Both sixes were sent soaring over deep mid-wicket and the second one saw the talented left-hander reach three-figure mark. It was Yuvraj’s 19th first-class century which will be remembered for a long time to come.
There were no demons in the 22-yard strip at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal and Yuvraj didn’t for once looked in any sort of trouble as he kept on punishing the Central bowlers. Credit should also be given to Dhawan who scored his second Duleep Trophy century of the season. His 200-ball innings contained 14 hits to the fence as he added 160 runs with his senior partner for the third wicket in just 20 overs.
Though he came to bat only in the 53rd over, well after lunch, Yuvraj took on the bowlers from the very beginning. The trio of Praveen Kumar [2/72], Bhuvenshwar Kumar [0/63] and Rituraj Singh [0/67] were treated with equal disdain while Kartik was singled out for special treatment. The 36-year-old Railways left-arm spinner was hammered for 92 runs in 19 overs as Yuvraj sent him on a leatherhunt.
With his handy left-arm spin to complement his elegant batting, the day might not be far when Yuvraj might be seen playing Test matches where he badly wants to make a mark. Sunday’s innings was an indicator of what can be expected from this enormously gifted cricketer.
BRIEF SCORES: North Zone 346/4 [Yuvraj Singh 133*, S Dhawan 121, Praveen Kumar 2/72] vs Central Zone.
At stumps, North were in a commanding position, having scored 346/4, riding on Yuvraj’s superb unbeaten 133 while skipper Shikhar Dhawan also made his presence felt with an innings of 121. Yuvraj’s innings will certainly end any doubts whatsoever about his fitness and ability to withstand the rigours of longer version of the game after recovering from rare germ cell cancer.
He played only 152 deliveries during his knock and hit 20 boundaries and two huge sixes off veteran India discard Murali Kartik. Both sixes were sent soaring over deep mid-wicket and the second one saw the talented left-hander reach three-figure mark. It was Yuvraj’s 19th first-class century which will be remembered for a long time to come.
There were no demons in the 22-yard strip at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Uppal and Yuvraj didn’t for once looked in any sort of trouble as he kept on punishing the Central bowlers. Credit should also be given to Dhawan who scored his second Duleep Trophy century of the season. His 200-ball innings contained 14 hits to the fence as he added 160 runs with his senior partner for the third wicket in just 20 overs.
Though he came to bat only in the 53rd over, well after lunch, Yuvraj took on the bowlers from the very beginning. The trio of Praveen Kumar [2/72], Bhuvenshwar Kumar [0/63] and Rituraj Singh [0/67] were treated with equal disdain while Kartik was singled out for special treatment. The 36-year-old Railways left-arm spinner was hammered for 92 runs in 19 overs as Yuvraj sent him on a leatherhunt.
With his handy left-arm spin to complement his elegant batting, the day might not be far when Yuvraj might be seen playing Test matches where he badly wants to make a mark. Sunday’s innings was an indicator of what can be expected from this enormously gifted cricketer.
BRIEF SCORES: North Zone 346/4 [Yuvraj Singh 133*, S Dhawan 121, Praveen Kumar 2/72] vs Central Zone.