New Delhi: Debutants in IPL-4, Pune Warriors India might just have taken advantage of the complacency of the other franchise owners.
While the emphasis was on splashing the cash on the rising stars of Indian cricket with the Saurabh Tiwary's and the Manoj Tiwary's of this world going for dizzying amounts of cash, Pune cashed in on the lack of attention given to the Indian players and Indian team discards.
Yuvraj Singh was in all kinds of mess after the end of IPL-3 and did not get any respite at the international level as well. Struggling to string together any kind of momentum in his innings and the sound of the ball hitting the sweet spot of the bat a distant memory, the stylish southpaw found no buyers and little willinglness for any franchise to see him as a part of their setup.
But for seasoned campaigners like Yuvraj, form is temporary and class is permanent and Pune franchise supremo did not hesitate to swoop for the Chandigarh lad.
Fast-forward to World Cup 2011, and after playing some crucial and match-winning knocks for the World Cup-winning Indian team, World Cup Man of the Tournament and skipper of the Pune Warriors is now the hottest property in world cricket, and how Preity Zinta and Kings XI Punjab must be cursing themselves for letting go off the all-rounder.
The quadrennial cricketing extravaganza also saw the rise of Yuvraj Singh the bowler, with the perennial Indian problem of the fifth bowler being solved and how.
And with the confidence back, and along with that the swagger, the attitude seems to have rubbed off on his peers as Pune have quickly established themselves as the team to beat in this IPL. After clinical displays with bat and ball, the confidence of the captain in himself is clearly showing in the attitude of the team as well.
And then there is Robin Uthappa. Why the Royal Challengers Bangalore let go of him after the Indian T20 World Cup winner smashed 26 sixes in the IPL-3 still remains a mystery. But what is the Challengers' loss is the Warriors' gain.
An expert with coping up to the demands of the shortest version of the game, he has proved himself to be a through and through specialist, now also keeping for the Warriors to prove his versatility as a cricketer.
Unorthodox shots have always been one of his strong points, as he very well exhibited when he fearlessly ventured into the middle against the Kochi Tuskers and nonchalantly reverse swept the wizard Muttiah Muaralitharan for four.
But like every Indian batsman, his two-step dance down the pitch to dispatch the spinner and fast bowlers alike to the furthest parts of the ground is a sight to see.
He has clearly showed his game-changing abilities by knocking the wind out of the sails of the opposition with some lusty hits.
With encouraging signs on both batting and bowling fronts, the debutants are definitely presenting a strong case for themselves, and when in trouble, they know the Robbie-Yuvi duo can come and save the day.
Source: http://cricketnext.in.com/news/pune-solve-the-middleorder-missing-link/56540-5.html
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