Yuvraj Singh's form a huge positive - MS Dhoni

George Bailey of Australia shakes hands with MS Dhoni of India after the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 match between India v Australia at Sher-e-Bangla Mirpur Stadium on March 30, 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Following their comprehensive 73-run victory against Australia in their final Group 2 encounter of the T20 World Cup at Bangladesh, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said that Yuvraj Singh’s return to form is the biggest positive to come out of the dead-rubber ahead of the knock-out rounds.

After being reduced to 66-4 in 11.3 overs and with Virat Kohli not at the crease, India were in a huge spot of bother. Yuvraj, however, rose to the occasion by scoring a counter-attacking 43-ball 60, a knock that had 5 fours and 4 sixes, to help India set a competitive target of 160. A reckless batting performance from Australia meant the Indian bowlers made light work of the task by bowling them out for just 86 runs on the board.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who picked up the key wickets of David Warner, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell to end up with figures of 3.2-0-11-4, was declared the Man-of-the-Match. Speaking after the match, Dhoni, who opted to go with Ajinkya Rahane ahead of the under-performing Shikhar Dhawan, indicated that the Delhi southpaw may to sit out of the team for long by backing Rahane to succeed based on his IPL exploits.

Dhoni said: “We all know what kind of a player Yuvi is. I think this format ideally suits his style of play. He decided to give himself time to play himself in. In the middle overs he wasn’t able to rotate but in the end overs we knew the firepower we had. I felt Yuvraj needed an innings like this and it was a fantastic knock for him and in turn for the team.”

“Rahane opens in difficult conditions. This also gives Shikhar some free time to think about his game so both players will benefit. Today there was no dew at all. We need a day’s rest. Soccer is something the boys really love so we might come back and play. We play so much cricket all round the year so it’s difficult to get the guys to come out and train all the time so soccer is something they enjoy to get fit.”