Veteran Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, on Thursday, shut his critics up with his career best score of 150 against England in the second One-Dayer in Cuttack, and said it was probably one of the best innings of his career.
The left-handed batsman was in some mood when he walked out to bat in the fourth over. Straight from the outset, Yuvraj was hitting the ball cleanly and did the same for the large part of his impressive innings. His last hundred, however, came in the World Cup 2011, and it took him nearly six years to add one more to his tally.
Speaking about his performance after the innings, Yuvraj said he loved this personally and would rather rate it right up there. Decoding his huge partnership with MS Dhoni of 256 runs, the southpaw said they both tried to rotate the strike early on and then planned to launch few, when bowlers seemed a bit tired.
He also added England bowlers were up to their mark in first ten overs but then lost the plot somewhere in between.
“Probably, one of my best – my highest score in ODIs. The last time I got a hundred was the 2011 World Cup; I am pretty happy that I played a good innings. I just tried to get a partnership. They [England] bowled really well upfront and we just wanted to rotate the strike and get into the rhythm, and take our time. There was a lot of time. I just wanted to play down the ground and not take many risks.”
In his blistering knock of 150 runs, Yuvi hammered 21 fours and three sixes.
Yuvraj further said he is in the right kind of mindset and gave credit to his good run in Ranji Trophy this season, which helped him gain momentum. He also said he works a lot on his fitness now and doesn’t miss a net session.
The 35-year-old mentioned his verbal chat with Sanjay Bangar, where he claimed to score big, given the way he was striking the ball in practice sessions.
“I think [in] the whole domestic season I had been batting well. I have been hitting the ball well. I have worked hard on my fitness and my batting. Even in the last game I was hitting the ball well. I knew if it’s my day, I just told Sanjay Bangar the way I’m hitting the ball I think I am going to score big. Whatever the stage is, we try to be positive, that’s the reason why me and Mahi were able to get the rhythm going.”
Batting alongside Dhoni for a period of around 30 odd overs, Yuvraj said he has seen the change in his approach and seems like he is going to play more freely than ever. Dhoni too was instrumental in India putting a huge total of 381 runs on the board, having scored his 10th hundred in the match.
Heaping more praise on his former skipper, Yuvraj said he is a great batsman and his experience will come into play in the middle-order.
“He[Dhoni] played a great innings. He is the most experienced middle-order batsman in the team. He is also a sensational captain. He was more free today, the way he was batting. I have always said when Mahi is not captaining he is more free and you saw the result today.”