Yuvraj Singh took his first real stride forward since last October and, irrespective of today's result, has given India some cheer. His first two international innings were so extensively chronicled that they hardly need another mention. However the subsequent plunge from celebrity to fool was rapid - starting at Sharjah where Muttiah Muralitharan left us all wondering how the sticky feet and lunging hands would adapt.

Muralitharan's first five overs today went for only five runs. The hard hands and half-lunge weren't completely absent, but Yuvraj checked them enough to see the spell through. That in itself was a moral victory, perhaps a devil conquered.

The rest of the innings was a joy for those who've been watching Yuvraj since the Under-19 World Cup two seasons ago. The easy flick off Chaminda Vaas that carried over the mid-wicket fence showed why he is born to bat at No. 6. Wasting deliveries is not in the nature of the man. Even when he was curbing his instincts to combat Murali early on, Suresh Perera and Sanath Jayasuriya were being struck away for runs from the other end.

Yuvraj apart, the rest of the top-order wilted yet again. Virender Shewag and Hemang Badani's run of failures are disconcerting, and Rahul Dravid must do more - either make 88 balls count for 67 rather than 47 or, like Jacques Kallis, bat through the innings and up the ante at the end.

Sourav Ganguly's 16-ball duck was almost embarrassing, but at least his unfettered faith in Yuvraj has finally been rewarded.

Rahul Bhattacharya

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd