The southpaw’s father has attacked the Ranchi man for sabotaging his son’s career. And former Indian seamer Yograj Singh even went to the extent of stating that with MS Dhoni no longer at the helm, his son Yuvraj Singh got an opportunity to earn a place in the ODI side after more than three years.
But when you look at the equation between the two, Yuvi and Mahi on the field, even a staunch critic of the two stalwarts would reconcile to the fact that even in their thirties, the Chandigarh-Ranchi combo can come to Team India’s rescue.
In Cuttack today, the two came together when India was struggling at 25 for 3 (4.4 overs), and since then the two had been unstoppable taking the score to 281 for 4 in the 42nd over. The partnership that we witnessed at Cuttack against England would go down the pages as one of the most cherished in the history of Indian cricket. India ened the innings with 381 for the loss of 6 wickets at the end of the stipulated 50 overs.
If Yuvraj took the initiative to accelerate, the former Indian captain played the perfect second fiddle to his partner rotating the strike and ensuring that Team India was taken out of the mess after the dismissals of KL Rahul, skipper Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, who should be shown the way out after failing in both the ODIs in Pune and Cuttack.
Now, Team India beat England by 15 runs, a match that came so close. When we look at the statistics, the value of the Yuvraj-MS partnership strikes us. Had the two veterans not struck the right chord at such a precarious juncture, Kohli would have had to face the broadcaster before the English captain, E Morgan at the post-match interview.
Kudos to the Yuvi-MS jodi, that once again rose to the occasion for the country when needed. If the so-called cynics had doubts on their ability at this age, the two derided their perception and proved that “age is just a number.” With both scoring hundreds and that also crucial ones from Team India’s point of view, they have only vindicated the notion that experience matters. Yes, they failed in the first ODI in Pune, but they joined the party in Cuttack when their team was down and almost out.
Yograj Sir, please stop taking pot shots at MS. There is a special camaraderie between MS and your son and it should remain intact in the interest of Indian cricket.