Does Young India Want to Prove a Point?

It really does seem that way. Younger legs, hungrier passions, determined ambitions, the perception of team India has not only grown younger but also, grown up by leaps and bounds.

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The match in Rajkot, the first one day international venue for the clash between India and England, was a keenly awaited contest. With the tightness of schedules, it was expected India may have to do the adapting. Instead it was England who played like they would out of depth. The match, to say the least, was a one sided affair in Rajkot. Yuvraj Singh roared like a wounded tiger and used everything that came in the way as prey and easy pickings.

The story has not been much different, at least with India’s batting on one of India’s not so easy pitches in Indore. Having said that, few would believe the two paced nature of the pitch given that India posted 292 on board. And to think that they were twenty-nine for three as the morning was only beginning to open the eyes wide.

On another day and at another time in history, it would have been history for the team that lost three wickets in a one day international in less than the first ten overs of the match. But someone in the media had apparently misguided England skipper Kevin Pietersen into thinking that Yuvraj would let his back injury come in the way of his resurrection.

Once again it was Yuvraj Singh and the other man who made a nuisance of himself for Australia, Gautam Gambhir, who joined forces and showed early setbacks did not set a team back. Yuvraj Singh was immaculate in understanding the need of the hour and the nature of the pitch. That he still managed to score a century at nearly a run a ball is then testimony of his talent which was really never in doubt.

Gambhir was perhaps unlucky to have missed out on a century in what has been a prolific season for him, having scored a century and a double century before receiving the rap of the referee and deservingly so. Yuvraj Singh yet again brings phrases like ‘he’s going through a purple patch’. But he has deceptively shown that many times ago, when he hammed Stuart Broad for six sixes in Twenty20 and then, again could not convert his Test century against Pakistan into a bigger contribution for India in Australia where his selection was considered detrimental. Yet again he shows he is ripe but how long can his run last time, is what young India will be keen to know.

The icing on the cake was provided by the birthday boy. Yousuf Pathan was the only man to return from the first one day internationals without double digits for India. Today he made amends in stellar fashion. Perhaps his increased exposure for the IPL’s Rajasthan Royals team fooled him into thinking this was a Twenty20 match. That was precisely the manner in which he batted. His half century coming off a mere twenty-nine balls was not an innings of shots played in anger. Rather it was the mark of an aggressive, young India just making a point.

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