Yuvraj is a special talent

After two comprehensive victories over the weekend against England and Sri Lanka in the ODI tri-series, I felt the only thing that could deprive the Indian team of a win is the flip side of English summer - rain. And finally it happened in Chesterle-Street when a persistent drizzle denied India what would have been yet another convincing win over England.

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Ganguly won the toss for the first time in the tri-series and had the opportunity to bat first. It is worthwhile to remember that India were chasing when they won the first two matches. At Chester-le-Street, India decided to bat first, which was a very good decision, taking into account the fickle nature of the 'watery sunshine'.

The facilities in England are of the highest order and the ground staff had made sure that the track was kept dry for such an important match. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Ganguly must have been completely shocked after being dismissed leg before off the very first ball. If anything at all, Ganguly was beaten by pace. It was a dismissal that underlined the importance of Gough's vast experience.

Virender Sehwag and Dinesh Mongia were guilty of playing loose shots while being dismissed early on a track that was full of runs. With three wickets down and not many runs on the board, India were in a spot of bother.

But then, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are two of the most experienced batsmen in contemporary international cricket. They are expected to deliver when the chips are down. And that was precisely what happened.

Andrew Flintoff is one fast bowler who has matured a lot in a short span of time. I was greatly impressed by his efforts when the Englishmen toured India. With his newfound discipline, Flintoff can only improve from here on. I thought Freddie bowled very well in containing Tendulkar and Dravid, not giving them any loose balls which would have enabled them to free their arms. Ronnie Irani also stuck to this principle, once again proving that it is quite difficult to hit out against someone who can wobble the ball around.

I thought the English fielding was simply brilliant. Paul Collingwood makes a huge difference to any fielding side as he does an amazing job at the crucial backward point position. Dravid and Tendulkar batted sensibly and ensured that India did not lose another wicket till they went past the 44th over. The little master was not his usual explosive self but was determined to play the sheet-anchor role to perfection.

Dravid, meanwhile, lost out on his century primarily due to the fact that he found it tough to force the pace when it mattered most. He finally lost his wicket in an effort to clear the field. But most importantly he had given the support Tendulkar required to play a big knock. Tendulkar's unbeaten hundred is the first ODI hundred by an Indian batsman against England in England. Hats off to the maestro.

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It took a blistering knock of 40 off just 19 balls from Yuvraj Singh for India to set an imposing target of 286 runs. Yuvraj Singh is a very special talent and all he wanted was for the selectors to show some faith in his natural ability. He is the right kind of player to be batting at number six. The youngster is a genuine match-winner and the aggression he brings with him adds a new dimension to the Indian batting.

It is so refreshing to see the Indian batting do so well. Even after three matches, the Indian lower order has not been required even once and that definitely is a testimony of the strength of the Indian batting. The middle-order is not willing to throw away their wickets cheaply and that makes a whole lot of difference to any team's fortunes. With Tendulkar shaping up well as a sheet anchor, this side is slowly building up as a hot contender for the World Cup 2003.

All the Indians now need to do is to continue in this same vein through the English summer. Even though there was 'No Result' at Chester-le-Street, it augurs well for Indian cricket that they still hold the advantage in the tri-series.