By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, IANS
Kanpur : After a match winning knock of 77 runs in India’s 46-run win over Pakistan in the third one-day international (ODI) here Sunday, Yuvraj Singh has now set his eyes on the Test cricket arena.
“I would like to do well in Test cricket,” Yuvraj said after being named Man of the Match.
Yuvraj last turned out for a Test against the West Indies in 2006. He has so far played in only 19 Tests since his debut in the longer version of the game 2003.
During his 95-ball knock Sunday, Yuvraj was involved in a 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
“Yuvraj has been our trump card; he is our best batsman,” said Dhoni. “We want him to play 30 overs and we will always have a good total if he is around.”
Yuvraj also fielded well and ran out Mohammed Yusuf for 16 runs – a blow that proved costly for Pakistan.
“I had told him don’t run to my left hand, but he didn’t listen to me,” Yuvraj said.
Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik also conceded that Yuvraj’s knock was crucial.
“We were expecting to restrict India to 250 runs, but Yuvraj and Dhoni played well,” he said. “We dropped Yuvraj early in his innings and that proved costly. We need to work on our fielding,” Malik said.
Chasing India’s 294 runs for six wickets in 50 overs, Pakistan was all out for 248 runs in 47.2 overs. The win gave India a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Pakistan’s defeat meant that Salman Butt’s superb century (129) went in vain.
“Salman played superb and we would like him to carry on with the good work,” said Malik.
“There are two more games to go in this series and Insha Allah, we will come back.”