Key knock for me, says Yuvi

By Our Correspondent

Hyderabad

Oct. 5: After striking form with a century against the Aussies that will most certainly put him back in contention for a place in the Test side, Yuvraj Singh was delighted. His joy was doubled because the game was played in Hyderabad, his happy hunting ground.

"I’m happy this game was in Hyderabad. Everytime I walk in here I feel very good. It was good for me, good for the team. I am pleased to get some runs," he said after the match. Excerpts:

On his knock: It was important for me because the last two Test matches the team might be decided again. There was more for myself, spending time at the wicket and getting the mental block out of the head.

I’m pretty satisfied with the way I batted. I just wanted to get back my confidence. As soon as I got to 30-35 everything came back. Coming back in the morning and taking the first session out of Brett Lee was very important for me as a personal challenge. I had to go through that just be there till lunch. It worked well for me.

On the Test series: Australia won the last series here and we had our top bowlers then. Harbhajan and Kumble have troubled any batsman coming to India. So it’s going to be a tough series for both the teams and we’re looking forward to it.

On Ricky Ponting: He’s a great player and at the end of the day you’ve got to learn from people whom you really admire. I just talk to him about batting and he’s been leading the Australian side for such a long time so it’s good to take a few points from such great players.

On the Aussies: They’ve got a good pace attack but I think they might lack in the spin department. Obviously they will think over which bowlers they’re going to play.

The wickets here are very different from Australia so it’s going to be hard work getting wickets on these tracks. I’m sure they have a game plan like last time.