Yuvraj Singh will remember his 28th birthday for long. The script could not have been better for him.The aggressive batsman said after his match-winning effort here onSaturday: “I am pleased with the way we played. I think the batsmenwere superb. This is the best birthday present I have ever had.”
He admitted though, “Frankly, I never expected to score 60 off only 25 balls.”
Yuvraj said the start given by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir played a key role. “I was happy to finish things off.”
He said coach Gary Kirsten was a “father figure” and added, “He is the best coach I have ever played under. He understands the pressures.”
Yuvraj conceded that India would have to lift its fielding in the upcoming ODI series. “We are not happy with the way we fielded in the last two games. Here, we could have restricted the Sri Lankans to around 160.”
He also wished teammate S. Sreesanth, down with swine flu, a quick recovery.
Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara said his team had not been disciplined. “The total should have been enough, but we missed some catches and run out chances.”
On why Sanath Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin was not employed, he said, “Yuvraj and Dhoni were playing the big shots and I thought our pacemen would do the job. Yuvraj batted well.”
