In the 2nd of the two-match DLF Cup series versus Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, everyone except Yuvraj in either team had a struggle during their respective stays at the crease. Dravid played more than 100 balls and yet never looked entirely comfortable with the stroke making. It would be ditto with Inzamam in their innings. The older ball was clearly causing problems.

India’s nemesis Mohammad Asif returned with Rana Naved during Indian ‘slog overs’ to strangulate the Indian innings and the two were largely successful at that. Exit set batsmen Dravid and Dhoni and enter new player Yuvraj Singh, coming in at twilight, starting his innings against two very accurate seamers bowling in a groove with the virtually unhittable old ball. He plays a few deliveries in typical fashion and then breezes 18 runs from 4 balls in an Asif over.

No brawn, no power, no luck; just pristine timing of the ball. Those back-of-length deliveries that tied down the previous batsmen are now effortlessly dispatched with amazing regularity. Yuvraj's priceless cameo becomes the single largest reason that India go past 260 with a few decisive extra runs, runs that prove to be too much for Inzamam and the Pakistan lower order in the final analysis.

The quality of the innings was put in perspective when the two bowlers regained full control immediately after Yuvraj departed. In recent memory only Ricky Ponting exhibited such clean hitting in the Johannesburg record-breaker but he got great competition from South Africans Herschelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith on a batting beauty. Yuvraj’s surgical dissection was a one-off in the four team innings played during the course of the series and even Rana Naved’s inspired assault on Indian off-spinners during Pakistan’s chase was no patch on it.

Cricinfo’s Dileep Premachandran summed it up thus:

“The innings lost momentum towards the end, with Naved bowling a fine spell full of subtle changes of pace. Mahendra Singh Dhoni played with great intelligence for his 59, but the disdainful manner in which Yuvraj Singh thwacked 24 from just 10 balls made you wonder whether he would have been a better option at No.3. On a pitch where the vast majority of strokes were mistimed or heaved off the square, Yuvraj's wondrous sense of timing stood out, and the three fours and a six off Asif's penultimate over transformed a competitive total into an imposing one. “

That brings us to a few questions. Just how much of these rankings is based on past and present statistical records? [It is common knowledge, after all, that prior to this phase Yuvraj had precious little in the ‘achievements’ column to even dream of getting near the top.] And, to what extent do they weigh in non-statistical factors like impact of scored runs on the game and match situation when runs were scored?

Let us face it: no ranking methodology is ever going to offer an explanation that satisfies all, and any brewing debate on the topic is best abandoned on that futile note. There are certain occasions though when our eyes tell us so much more than the stats pages. The present batting form of Yuvraj Singh is a case in point.

i would be the first one to say that the ranking system is flawed, how does dhoni who has done a great part get rated ahead of Yuvraj singh. Yuvraj has put up some of the finest indian batting displays playing the crucial overs while dhoni comes later in the order and all he has to slog. The rating should be yuvraj, ponting, dhoni......

FYI: There is a world beyond India guys. People who live in THAT world, though not veegterians, eat food to survive. They breathe, though not as many fumes, in order to continue living. My point being: think global, not national! For once.

Give me a break guys! People don't even know Yuvraj and Dhoni outside of the subcontinent. They're still 24 and 25 respectively and their time will surely come - much too talented to never hit it big! However, in the meantime, let Ponting, who is 31 and at the pinnacle of his ability, rule the charts. After all, he has earned every bit of it.

Hi Jay

I think I have precious little to do about the fact that Yuvraj happens to be in a 'world' I belong to. And please pardon my indiscretion if I missed out on Ponting there.

Between the devil (or 'devil ray') and the deep sea I am. I praise Ponting's form as 'Bradmanesque' and one Pakistan fan tears me apart. I 'dare' to place someone on the same pedestal (or floor) as him and sure enough another has a go at me! I need to learn the balancing act pretty fast.

Wish I could assure you that I wrote the post with a hand on my heart.... and that I love the 'world' (smiley)

Angshuman,
Maybe I came off a little too critical but that was surely not my intention. I am a little disillusioned with the "pro-India" or "always-having-something-to-do-with-India" coverage that cricket gets in the media. Good to know that people like you are taking the middle path, opting to put rationale above nationalism.

Not that the two of us need to patch up :P but I definitely don't want to be known/read as an India basher. I appreciate what India has done for cricket like creating a global viewer-base and the influx of money. 20 years down the line, we will be thanking Indian cricket of the 1990's for creating the resources to globalise the game. So make no mistale, Indian cricket and Indian cricketers - Yuvraj, Dhoni, Dravid and co.- are all well appreciated in Pakistan. All we demand, however, is a little balance in judgement. So as long as you think you're being honest to the game in your articles, I have no complaints. You sound decent enough to hold yourself accoutable under the "honor" system.

Thanks Jay. Your point about the excess of "pro-India" or "always-having-something-to-do-with-India" matter on media is justified, and trust me that many Indians get irritated by it too.

Think about it this way - any person who has a sense of perspective or aspires for it will feel like that, whatever his nationality.

As for patching up, your reading these columns automatically makes us friends, irrespective of bouquets or brickbats!

Ha ha, Angshuman, you miss me don't you? Nice to know, old friend..am waiting to cross chapatis with you during the Pak/Eng Series; am stocking up on fuel as it were..(smiley)..
Yes Ponting is not Bradmanesque, never will be, (nobody will be) but I do recall a long time ago saying that Yuvraj should bat higher up the order and the only reason he was not was because of the Seniority/ Juniority system in Indian Cricket. Chappell has turned things around for the better and he pays close attention to the Right Hand/ Left Hand Batsmen in terms of order which is very smart of him. I'd like to see Yuvraj at 3 as often as possible and it looks like he will be one of the standout Batsmen in the next WC. I also hope to get enough funds to spend a couple of weeks in Kolkata and I hope you will show me around that great City. One of these days Angs !!
Cheers, Feroz.
PS. Dhoni is still a lousy Keeper!!(Big Smiley)

Oh! Welcome Feroz - Just drop in a line about a fortnight ahead of your visit , and I will be there with you at Kolkata.

As for Dhoni's keeping , #@!%$!^#!! (defenceless rants) - what about us not discussing him on that visit?