I was playing the World Cup for Tendulkar: Yuvraj
April 3rd, 2011 - 2:42 am ICT by IANS
Mumbai, April 3 (IANS) India’s star batsman Yuvraj Singh said the “special person” for whom he was playing the World Cup was Sachin Tendulkar.
Yuvraj, who was adjudged Player of the Tournament, kept everybody guessing after India’s quarterfinal win over Australia when he said that he was playing the World Cup for a special person.
But Saturday, after India defeated Sri Lanka in the World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium, Yuvraj said the special person was none other than Tendulkar. He also dedicated the victory his gurujis and mother Shabnam.
“I will disappoint you all. The special person is not my girlfriend, not my fiancee but Sachin. This is unbelievable. I was part of Under-19 World Cup, then Twenty20 World Cup title wins but this is the most special. I want to dedicate this to my guru ji, to my mother and my friends. Last time we were in World Cup final, we made lots of mistakes,” said Yuvraj, who won four Man of the Match awards in the tournament.
“Batting second is lot of pressure but Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) and MS (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) played outstandingly. They played like it was a normal game. We batted like champions. We don’t have a proper left-arm spinner and so it was my job to do it. Narendra Hirwani has been helping me and I have been working hard. Tonight is going to be a good night! Thank you India!”
Asked how he felt after coming from his poor run of form last year, Yuvraj said: “It is a great feeling. Last year was pretty tough. Had lot of injuries, form wasn’t that great. I was scoring but not that heavily. Now all the practice, all the hard work has come at the right time.”
Yuvral also thanked former India captain Sourav Ganguly and Dhoni for always supporting him.
“When I started my career, Sourav was the captain and he supported me a lot. And now Mahi also supports me. He has always been there and it is special when the whole team supports you. And this is what makes the team unity. But definitely Sourav and MS have been helpful in my career,” said the 29-year-old who scored 362 runs at an average of 86.19 in eight innings in the tournament.
He also took 15 wickets at an average of 25.13 and an economy-rate of 5.02 with his more-than-useful slow left-arm bowling.
- Yuvraj Player of the Tournament; Dhoni Man of the Match of World Cup final (Lead) - Apr 03, 2011
- Maintaining the top spot will be a challenge, asserts Yuvraj - Apr 03, 2011
- Confident Dhoni fashions India's World Cup triumph - Apr 03, 2011
- Sofia Hayat to get World Cup logo tatto - Mar 02, 2011
- Four Indians in ICC's ODI team, Dhoni captain - Sep 12, 2011
- Irish cricketer Kevin disappointed at missing IPL - May 04, 2012
- Tendulkar will end his World Cup career on a high: Ganguly - Sep 23, 2010
- World Cup performance exceeded my expectations: Yuvraj - Apr 01, 2012
- My decisions would have been questioned had they backfired: Dhoni (Lead) - Apr 03, 2011
- Mumbai wishes Team India Good luck with messages on 100 feet long bat - Feb 19, 2011
- Indian team dedicates World Cup to nation, Sachin - Apr 03, 2011
- IPL set for grand start - without 'feel good' factor - Apr 03, 2012
- Dhoni is the best captain: Tendulkar - Apr 04, 2011
- Dhoni is the best captain I have played for, says Sachin - Apr 04, 2011
- I play for India and not for captains, says Yuvraj - Jun 22, 2011
Tags: fiancee, gambhir, girlfriend, guru, India, last time, left arm, mahendra singh dhoni, match, right time, sourav ganguly, special person, spinner, sri lanka, star batsman, team unity, victory, wankhede stadium, world cup title, yuvraj singh