‘Victories such as these boost team’s collective confidence’

BIRMINGHAM: India couldn’t have hoped for a better start to their ICC Champions Trophy campaign. Sunday’s victory at Edgbaston was comprehensive in every sense of the word. Did anything not go India’s way against Pakistan? Well, I don’t think so. In fact, everything went according to plan.

The opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan was worth 136 priceless runs.

What it did was help India build a solid platform. True to his nature, Virat Kohli banished the demons of an underwhelming IPL campaign and produced a captain’s knock at number three. His performance was just fantastic.

That said, the man who stole the show with his brilliant hitting was none other than Yuvraj Singh. The kind of innings he played was simply mind-blowing. That is Yuvi for you.

When it comes to ICC tournaments, I doubt I can think of any other player that rises to the occasion as frequently and as brilliantly as Yuvraj.

Not only did the left-handed veteran take the pressure off Kohli’s shoulders, but he also entertained the crowd with his unique style of batting. Wow, what a knock that was! No wonder, then, that he was adjudged the player of the match.

Such victories boost the team’s collective confidence. Apart from Sharma, Dhawan, Kohli and Yuvraj, it was great to see Hardik Pandya play that wonderful cameo. His clean-asa-whistle hits over the fence sucked the life out of Pakistan. It was just fantastic to watch.

Simply put, India could not have asked for a better opening fixture. Yes, the opposition was Pakistan and pressure was always going to be a huge factor. But the boys performed very well. It never seemed that India was under any sort of pressure.

WHEN IT COMES TO ICC TOURNAMENTS, I DOUBT ANY PLAYER RISES TO THE OCCASION AS FREQUENTLY AND BRILLIANTLY AS YUVRAJ