WC cricket 2011 match 22: Yuvraj, Yusuf tame Irish hurricane, India win by 5 wicket

By Team Bellevision
Bellevision Media Network

Bangalore, 06 March 2011: India’s batting line-up ensured no upsets in their World Cup campaign as a fighting Ireland was done-in by Yusuf Pathan’s cameo towards the end while Yuvraj Singh played the anchor role with his gritty 47th ODI fifty. Chasing under the lights, the home team had to battle for every run as the Irish outfit made their small total very competitive with intelligent bowling and superb fielding. The final scorecard saw India winning by five wickets, a margin that could have been narrower if the total was slightly more.

 

The game was a much needed reality check for the Men in Blue as their games in the initial phase of the tournament have exposed some of the chinks in their armour after being tagged favourites to win the trophy. Yousef eased into strokes in front of the wicket with the flow of a natural. Yuvraj Singh also displayed a heart that complemented his large frame.

 

Indeed, Yuvraj held centre-stage with a match-winning unbeaten 50 in a pressure situation after scalping five with his much improved left-arm spin earlier in the day. Focussed and committed, he had also banished self-doubts, the biggest scourge of them all. At the Chinnaswamy Stadium, here, on Sunday, Yuvraj lived a World Cup dream in the cauldron as India defeated a spirited Ireland by five wickets in a hard fought Group `B’ match.

 

The pitch played differently from the ones for the earlier games here and the pursuit of 208 was a tricky one. The surface was dual paced – a few deliveries stopped before meeting the bat while some others hurried after pitching. Batting demanded application. Ireland found hard. The bowling was accurate and the fielding sharp. Every run had to be earned. Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni coped well with a stressful situation. The left-right duo batted straight, milking the bowling before launching into the odd bigger blow.

 

 

 

However, Ireland continued to chip away. Dhoni (34) was trapped leg-before by a delivery that held its line from left-arm spinner George Dockrell. Then, Yusuf Pathan launched into Dockrell with two huge sixes between the straight-field and long-on. Yusuf (30 not out) settled the issue with another stroke for the maximum over long-on off off-spinner Paul Stirling.

 

The battle-scarred Trent Johnston struck at the start. Virender Sehwag’s leading edge was plucked by the bowler with glee and the left-handed Gautam Gambhir was held with the at short fine-leg by Alex Cusack when he attempted to turn a length delivery. Ireland was full of beans and the pressure was on India. Maestro Sachin Tendulkar and a determined Virat Kohli strung together a partnership.

 

Tendulkar cover-drove Dockrell gloriously while Kohli was feisty with his horizontal bat shots. India had progressed to 87 after 20 overs when Tendulkar missed a sweep off Dockrell. Soon Kohli was walking back after a terrible mix-up following a Yuvraj stroke square off the wicket. Then, Dhoni and Yuvraj joined forces. This, indeed, was a contest where Yuvraj took flight. Yuvraj’s bowling has evolved too.

 

Essentially a round-arm bowler when he began, he employs more body in his action these days. Consequently, there is more work on the ball. And his stump-to-stump line can force batsmen to commit mistakes. Yuvraj often delivers from wide of the crease, mixing the deliveries sliding into the batsmen with the ones straightening or spinning just a tad away. The Irish batsmen were unable to distinguish the sliders from those straightening or leaving them.

 

 

 

 

And he varied his pace, even floating a few deliveries. Dangerman Kevin O’ Brien perished when he misjudged the length of a Yuvraj delivery to knock back a return catch. And Zaheer Khan was spot on after Dhoni elected to field. The crafty left-arm paceman moved the ball away from the left-handed William Porterfield, a delivery requiring precision and control.

 

In fact, Porterfield could have been prised out in the first over had Yusuf Pathan held the ball on second attempt after diving to his left to palm a rapidly travelling edge. Zaheer switched his line to the right-hander admirably and castled opener Pual Stirling with one that nipped back. The paceman was on song. The left-armer harried the left-handed Ed Joyce. The southpaw, expecting the ball to seam away, ended up playing down the wrong line.

 

The delivery darted in to kiss the inside edge for Dhoni to hold a smart catch. Dhoni displayed more imagination in managing the overs. Yusuf Pathan was introduced in the fourth over to send down his off-spin. Then Harbhajan Singh replaced Pathan in the eighth over. And once Zaheer finished a searing first spell (5-1-15-2) Munaf replaced him from the far end ensuring that India maintained a mix of pace and spin.

 

 

 

Despite the Indian ploy, Ireland scripted a recovery from nine for two. The left-handed pair of Porterfield and Niall O’ Brien displayed resolve, collecting singles and twos while putting away deliveries lacking in length. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla struggled for the right line while bowling at the left-handed pair and was taken to the cleaners. Perhaps, Chawla attempted too many variations without quite finding his rhythm.

 

Porterfield grew in confidence while Niall displayed quick hands like most ’keepers do. Niall used the depth of the crease capably to pick runs behind the wicket. The duo had added 113 runs for the third wicket when a smart piece of fielding by Virat Kohli at cover – he swooped on the ball before firing in a throw to Dhoni – caught Niall short of his crease.

 

Skipper Porterfield (75), eventually, succumbed to a delivery lacking in length from Yuvraj; it was a soft dismissal. Ireland, gradually, lost its way. The Indian fielding was marginally better and Dhoni did hold a fine catch flinging himself to his right when Zaheer forced an edge from George Dockrell.

 

Match Summary

ICC World Cup 2011 India vs Ireland, 22nd Match, Group B M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, March 6, 2011

Match Information Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZ) & Rod Tucker (Aus) Third Umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA) Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama (SL) Toss: India (Elected to field) Match Status: India won by 5 wkts

Batting: Ireland Innings

Batsmen Ireland (207/10 in 47.5 ovs) Runs Balls 4’s 6’s SR William Porterfield (c) c H Singh b Y Singh 75 104 6 1 72.12 Paul Stirling b Z Khan 0 1 0 0 0.00 Ed Joyce c M Dhoni b Z Khan 4 5 1 0 80.00 Niall O’Brien (wk) run out (V Kohli/M Dhoni) 46 78 3 0 58.97 Andrew White c M Dhoni b Y Singh 5 10 0 0 50.00 Kevin O’Brien c & b Y Singh 9 13 1 0 69.23 Alex Cusack lbw b Y Singh 24 30 3 0 80.00 John Mooney lbw b Y Singh 5 17 0 0 29.41 Trent Johnston lbw b M Patel 17 20 2 0 85.00 George Dockrell c M Dhoni b Z Khan 3 10 0 0 30.00 Boyd Rankin not out 1 1 0 0 100.00 Extras: b - 0, w - 8, nb - 6, lb - 4 18   Total:(207 for 10 in 47.5 overs) 207 Run Rate: 4.33

Fall Of Wickets

1/1 (Paul Stirling, 0.4 ov.), 2/9 (Ed Joyce, 2.3 ov.), 3/122 (Niall O’Brien, 26.5 ov.), 4/129 (Andrew White, 29.1 ov.), 5/147 (Kevin O’Brien, 33.4 ov.), 6/160 (William Porterfield, 37.1 ov.), 7/178 (John Mooney, 41.5 ov.), 8/184 (Alex Cusack, 43.4 ov.), 9/201 (George Dockrell, 46.6 ov.), 10/207 (Trent Johnston, 47.5 ov.)

Bowling: India

Bowler O M R W Nb Wd ER Zaheer Khan 9 1 30 3 0 1 3.3 Munaf Patel 4.5 0 25 1 0 1 5.2 Yusuf Pathan 7 1 32 0 0 0 4.6 Harbhajan Singh 9 1 29 0 0 1 3.2 Piyush Chawla 8 0 56 0 1 3 7.0 Yuvraj Singh 10 0 31 5 0 1 3.1

Batting: India Innings

Batsmen India (210/5 in 46 ovs) Runs Balls 4’s 6’s SR Virender Sehwag c & b T Johnston 5 3 1 0 166.67 Sachin Tendulkar lbw b G Dockrell 38 56 4 0 67.86 Gautam Gambhir c A Cusack b T Johnston 10 15 2 0 66.67 Virat Kohli run out (G Dockrell/K O’Brien) 34 53 3 0 64.15 Yuvraj Singh not out 50 75 3 0 66.67 MS Dhoni (c) (wk) lbw b G Dockrell 34 50 2 0 68.00 Yusuf Pathan not out 30 24 2 3 125.00 Piyush Chawla             Harbhajan Singh             Zaheer Khan             Munaf Patel             Extras: b - 0, w - 5, nb - 0, lb - 4 9   Total:(210 for 5 in 46 overs) 210 Run Rate: 4.57

Fall Of Wickets

1/9 (Virender Sehwag, 1.1 ov.), 2/24 (Gautam Gambhir, 5.2 ov.), 3/87 (Sachin Tendulkar, 20.1 ov.), 4/100 (Virat Kohli, 23.4 ov.), 5/167 (MS Dhoni, 40.1 ov.)

Bowling: Ireland

Bowler O M R W Nb Wd ER Boyd Rankin 10 1 34 0 0 2 3.4 Trent Johnston 5 1 16 2 0 1 3.2 George Dockrell 10 0 49 2 0 0 4.9 John Mooney 2 0 18 0 0 0 9.0 Paul Stirling 10 0 45 0 0 2 4.5 Andrew White 5 0 23 0 0 0 4.6 Kevin O’Brien 1 0 3 0 0 0 3.0 Alex Cusack 3 0 18 0 0 0 6.0