As the defending champions India gear up for their second clash of the ICC Champions Trophy, aiming to book a semi-final berth, Yuvraj Singh will be under spotlight following his impressive score against Pakistan on Sunday.
"The way he (Yuvraj) was hitting the ball, I felt like a club batter in front of him," skipper Virat Kohli hailed Yuvraj after India outdid Pakistan by 124 runs (D/L) in Birmingham.
Kohli's word echoed his pride and confidence in Yuvraj, whose 53 off 32 balls not only helped him bag The Man Of The Match award but also assured a tougher middle-order their opponents will have to face in the matches to come.
"After I got to 50, I wasn't able to freely play. And Yuvi came in and just took all the pressure off me. And the way he batted was the way only he can strike the ball, hitting low full tosses for fours and sixes, and even digging out yorkers for fours was outstanding," Kohli added, hailing Yuvraj's swift knock against the arch-rivals.
The 35-year-old batsman from Chandigarh slammed a six and eight boundaries in his scintillating innings. Besides impressive knocks by Rohit Sharma (91) and Virat Kohli (81*), Yuvraj's half-century intensified the clash at Edgbaston furthermore.
"I think that really deflated the opposition and that gave me a bit of time to settle in from the other end. When he got out, I took over. But I think his innings was a difference in the game," Kohli said.
Yuvraj's 50-plus knock came after a gap of four international matches. His last four matches saw him scoring 27, 4, 12 and 43 respectively. However, before this, the stylish southpaw had struck an impressive 150-run knock against England in an ODI match in Cuttack.
India are scheduled to play Sri Lanka at The Oval in their second match of the Champions Trophy on Thursday. Yuvraj has scored 1393 runs in 54 ODI matches against Sri Lanka and now sailing on a fruitful form, the left-hander can be even more dreadful for the struggling Lankans.
(With inputs from agencies)