Chennai: Yuvraj Singh emerged as India's hero with yet another fine all-round performance.
He hit a century after a wait of nearly two years and provided vital breakthroughs. Although totally tired and drenched in sweat after his performance in Chennai's extreme hot weather, and sipping water to prevent dehydration, he spoke at length about his performance and India's chances in the quarterfinals.
Gulf News: How pleasing was it for you to get a century after a wait since 2009?
Yuvraj Singh: I surely wanted to get a century. If you bat at No. 4 you can get to play more balls than at No 5. I also wanted to not hit the ball in the air and keep it to the ground. I have been looking forward to a century for some time and this is the first game that I was hitting the ball well.
So it must have been a great moment for you, especially after being even dropped from the Indian team for lack of form?
It is a big moment for me and the nation. I feel happy. I need to continue the form in the quarterfinal too. It was very hard for me and I did go through tough times recently. I worked very hard during this phase following the motto: Tough people stand but not tough times. I am happy the results of my hard work are showing.
How do you fancy India's chances against Australia?
Australians have won five games. The teams are equal at the moment. Whoever plays better on that particular day will win the match. No doubt, Australia is a top side having won the title for last three years. However, do not forget that players like Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist are not there in the team. Ricky Ponting has not been in form too. So we will focus and try to win the match by exposing their weakness.
Australia has very good pacers and today we saw the Indian batsmen falling to short pitch deliveries again. Don't you think Australians too might apply the same technique to get you all out?
I don't think we have an issue with the short ball. It has all been created by the media. If we had such a problem, we would not have been the No 1 Test team and the No 2 One-day team in the world. We know that they have pace and get wickets with their pace.but we are prepared for it.
Would you have preferred playing Sri Lanka instead in the quarterfinals?
If you are thinking of winning the World Cup, it does not matter who you play. You need to beat the best sides such as Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka if you have to win the Cup.
Once again your team hasn't batted the full quota of 50 overs. Is this a worrying factor?
It will be an issue for you (media) people if we do not win the games. We are happy that we are in the quarterfinal and we will do what best we can do.
Who do you think will make the semi finals? Can India beat Australia in a high pressure quarter final game?
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