Ind A vs WI A: For centurion Yuvraj Singh, the comeback is just beginning

A six-week training regimen in France attracted as much attention as anything else that was happening in India cricket. Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan hired private trainer Tim Exeter and spent hours in a southern French town to regain peak fitness. Then, they came back and no one quite knew where they were with their cricket. It’s one thing to be fit and quite another to be able to put that fitness to good use. Yuvraj last played for India in an ODI series against England in January, where he scored just one half-century. He was ignored for the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June due to fitness and form. But at 32, he knew that if he could get his fitness sorted out, the rest would… should fall into place. The last time Yuvraj Singh played an ‘A’ series for India A was at Kolkata in December 2003 vs Sri Lanka A in the final of Kenstar ‘A’ tri series. It’s been a long time and in tennis parlance, it’s almost like going back to the Challenger circuit… a bit like Andre Agassi. [caption id=“attachment_1110319” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Yuvraj Singh. Reuters[/caption] But not even he would have reckoned that he would get it right so quickly. Against the West Indies A, a fitter, leaner-looking Yuvraj Singh – playing in his first match for four months – smashed 123 off 89 balls including 8 fours and 7 sixes. “Very good. It is always amazing to get a hundred. It’s the first game of my season and everything fell in place. I had worked quite hard in the off season and I was looking good, I was confident. I’ve been working on my batting and skills in the last couple of weeks. I just wanted to take some time at the start and attack when I needed to,” Yuvraj told reporters. “It’s always a pleasure to get a century. It’s taken a lot of time, but you also have to see where I’m coming from. I haven’t played much of cricket over the last four-five months,” he added. When Yuvraj walked in to bat, India A were 47-2 and he needed to keep it steady. Young Mandeep singh helped the senior left-hander settle in by taking charge in the 100-run partnership for the third wicket. When Mandeep was dismissed after 30.1 overs, India A were a respectable 147-3 and Yuvraj was on 46 off 57 balls. Then things got crazy. With Yusuf for company, Yuvraj decided to up the ante and he did that with ease even though the outfield was pretty slow. Once he started going for the big shots – there was no stopping him. In the space of just 14 balls, he sped from 61 to 104 (4-1-1-.-6-4-6-6-1-4-1-1-2-6) even as selector Vikram Rathour watched from the stands. It was splendid, clean hitting – the kind that made Yuvraj’s reputation over the years. Leaner, fitter – not breathing as hard as we had seen him do in the last few matches – he seemed much more at ease. Yuvraj’s first first came off 60 balls, the second fifty of the innings came in just 20 balls and off the last 9 balls he faced, he hammered another 23 runs. This was Yuvraj’s first hundred in 2013 after 29 innings in any format and it was clear that it meant a lot to him. His blast aligned with a similar innings from Yusuf Pathan (70 off 32 balls) helped India A reach 312 for 4. After 30 overs, India A were 147/2 – a run-rate of 4.90. In the next 12 overs, they smashed 165/2 – run-rate 13.75. That’s how big the turnaround was for India A and for Yuvraj. As he walked walked back – caught in the deep, attempting a slog sweep – the crowd was on its feet. Yuvraj raised his helmet in their direction. But he wasn’t smiling. Instead, the determination that was evident showed that he really has a bigger stage on his mind.