Singh on song for India

22 September 2007

Yuvraj Singh blasts 70 off just 30 deliveries © Getty Images

Yuvraj Singh returned from the injury list to inspire India’s progress into the ICC World Twenty20 final by sealing a 15-run victory over Australia at Kingsmead.

Ruled out of Thursday’s epic triumph over South Africa with tendinitis of the elbow, Yuvraj returned and hammered a brilliant 70 off only 30 balls to help India reach a competitive 188 for five after winning the toss.

It was a target beyond Australia, who were restricted to 173 for seven in reply, to set up a potentially thrilling final at Johannesburg on Monday against arch-rivals Pakistan.

Australia had seemed on track to overhaul India’s total while Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds shared a 66-run third wicket stand off only 36 balls.

But the loss of three wickets in as many overs effectively ended their challenge and when Mike Hussey, batting with a runner after suffering a suspected hamstring injury, was caught in the deep by Yuvraj in the final over the celebrations began.

Sri Sreesanth had remarkable figures of 2-12 from his four allowed overs © Getty Images

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Indian seamer Sreesanth had given his side hope of setting up the all-Asian final by bowling stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist - and soon after Irfan Pathan had Brad Hodge caught at short fine leg.

That brought close friends Matthew Hayden and Symonds together and their stand appeared to put Australia back on course to add the Twenty20 crown to their World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy successes.

But with 54 required for victory with five overs remaining, Sreesanth returned to shatter Hayden’s stumps after he had hit four fours and four sixes in his 62 off 47 balls.

Two overs later Irfan also struck by bowling Symonds for 43 off 26 balls to swing the momentum firmly in India’s direction and leave Australia needing 22 off the final over.

It was beyond even the talents included in Australia’s line-up and instead India, possibly the last country to embrace this format of cricket, began preparing for Monday’s final.

Yuvraj had earlier given another startling display of his strokeplay, hitting five fours and five sixes to show little sign of discomfort from his elbow by picking up where he left off in his last match against England, when he became only the fourth man in history to hammer six sixes in an over.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni adds some lusty blows late on in the India innings © Getty Images

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Yuvraj signalled his intent from the very start of his innings, pulling Stuart Clark for six over midwicket, helping India add 96 runs in their final seven overs.

He was finally out in the 18th over of the innings, caught in the deep by Hussey off Michael Clarke’s left-arm spin, having previously dominated an 84-run stand off 40 balls with Robin Uthappa.

Captain Mahendra Dhoni weighed in with 36 off 18 balls to leave Australia needing a major effort to meet Pakistan in Monday’s final.

India had begun their innings cautiously and were restricted to 37 runs in the first six overs of fielding restrictions with Mitchell Johnson claiming wickets in successive overs to remove openers Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag.

His efforts united Yuvraj and Uthappa in a stunning display of hitting, which saw them claim 19 off the first over from Symonds and 21 off a further over from Stuart Clark.

Uthappa was run out after a mix-up with Dhoni for a quickfire 34 off 28 balls before Yuvraj attempted one big hit too many as three wickets fell in the final five overs.

But their efforts were still enough to complete a deserved triumph to leave the inaugural tournament with as fiercely competitive a final as they could have wished for at the start of the tournament.

It was the prospect of facing arch-rivals Pakistan on Monday that excited Yuvraj more than his man-of-the-match award and he admitted: “The final means a lot.

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“Beating Australia gives us a lot of confidence but India against Pakistan is a dream come true final and the whole world is going to be watching. It will be special for me and the team.

“I’m very happy with the way I’m hitting the ball. It’s very important on an occasion like this that you contribute towards a winning victory so I’m glad we won.”

India captain Dhoni does not believe India’s bowl-out victory over Pakistan earlier in the competition will have any bearing on Monday’s showdown.

He explained: “I don’t think it means anything. Every game is a fresh match but this one is the biggest stage - a World Cup final with India playing against Pakistan - you won’t get a bigger match than that.”

Stand-in Australian captain Adam Gilchrist, leading the side in the absence of hamstring victim Ricky Ponting, believes the spell by Indian seamer Sreesanth swung the game in India’s favour.

“I thought he was the difference in the game,” said Gilchrist. “I felt reasonably comfortable chasing that total.

“The pressure’s always on but I felt reasonably in control with Matty and Andrew Symonds there, but Sreesanth’s spell of bowling turned the table back their way and they played the better cricket in the final five overs.”

He added: “We never really got into a great rhythm in the tournament but that was probably to be expected with the break we had and the preparation we had coming into it.

“But by the time tonight came around we’d played enough to be ready, there’s no doubt about that.”