The 25-year-old had seen his innings-salvaging 103 against South Africa in the first ever international at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium go in vain some 23 months back. As if determined not to let Friday’s third one-dayer against Australia follow a similar script, the left-hander dug himself in for the long haul, but his blistering 121 (115b, 12x4, 3x6) was again just not enough as Australia surged to a 2-0 lead in the seven-match Future Cup with a convincing 47-run triumph.

Having seen Australia post a commanding 290 for seven upon Ricky Ponting winning the toss and choosing to bat despite the thick cloud cover, India needed at least a couple of their six other specialist batsmen to link up with Yuvraj for any length of time.

Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni were both associated in half-century stands with the left-hander. Both were dismissed at the most inopportune of times, Dhoni’s fall leaving Yuvraj to plough a lone furrow with the lower order. In the face of a steep asking rate, Yuvraj had too much to do. He predictably fell in attempting the impossible as India’s second abortive chase in four days ended at 243.

Yuvraj outdid man of the match Andrew Symonds’ savage 89 (67b, 5x4, 5x6) for both grace and panache, but when it came to effect, it was the Australian that came up trumps.

Solid base
Symonds benefited from having a solid base to build on, and positively blossomed in Michael Clarke’s company, the two adding 123 (100b) for the fourth-wicket. Even so, having gone in a bowler short, India had done exceptionally well to claw back after a poor start that saw Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden take Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth apart.

India had hoped to rely on the extra batsman to fight their way into the series, leaving out Ramesh Powar and opting to blood Rohit Sharma instead of bringing back Sourav Ganguly. Inside the first five overs, it became obvious that the extra batsman had to do his bit too if India were to get anywhere close to the Australian total.

In a fiery first spell, Brett Lee ripped the heart out of the Indian batting, accounting for Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid. In between, Mitchell Johnson had Robin Uthappa’s number. India were jolted by losing three for three in 13 deliveries. It was time to set stall and rebuild. Tendulkar, with utmost caution, and Yuvraj with increasing adventure stabilised the innings, adding 95 (122b) for the fourth. Dhoni then hung around long enough for the fifth-wicket to realise 65 (66b). Otherwise, though, it was all about Yuvraj.

Few men time the ball as well and strike it as hard as Yuvraj does. There was nothing brutal about his essay, yet it came at a brilliant rate. Australia were never threatened, but they did show their appreciation — in a game that was remarkably prosaic and incident-free — of Yuvraj’s effort as, almost to a man, they ran up to congratulate him when he fell in trying to force the pace.

Forcing the pace was the name of the game in the morning when play began on time despite fairly heavy early morning showers. The overcast skies convinced the think-tank to stick with the swing of Sreesanth ahead of the seam and cut of Rudra Pratap Singh, but it was Gilchrist and Hayden who swung the bat with gay abandon as both Sreesanth and Zaheer pitched it far too full.

Early breakthroughs
The early breakthroughs of the previous games were conspicuous by their absence. Having begun with a blistering 76-run (80b) stand, the World champs threatened to run away with it until Harbhajan Singh with a mesmerising spell helped India pull things back in the problem middle overs.

It wasn’t until Clarke linked up with Symonds that Australia regained the ascendancy. Clarke continued his good recent form with a sedate half-century, but it was Symonds that did the damage, switching gears effortlessly after reaching his fifty off as many deliveries. His next 39 came off just 17 deliveries, with two fours and three sixes, Yuvraj suffering the most as Dhoni kept him on for one over too many. Wickets in hand meant Australia could add 83 in the last 10, and 150 in the last 20. Decisive, really.

Score board

AUSTRALIA
Gilchrist b Pathan 29
(31b, 3x4)

Hayden c Dhoni b Pathan 60
(70b, 10x4)

Ponting c Sreesanth b Yuvraj 25
(43b, 3x4)

Clarke c Pathan b Zaheer 59
(71b, 4x4)

Symonds c Uthappa b Sreesanth 89
(67b, 5x4, 5x6)

Hodge b Zaheer 3
(7b)

Hopes c Dravid b Sreesanth 11
(11b)

Lee (not out) 0
(0b)

Extras (B-2, LB-3, W-9) 14

Total (for 7 wkts, 50 overs) 290

Fall of wickets: 1-76 (Gilchrist), 2-112 (Hayden), 3-135 (Ponting), 4-258 (Clarke), 5-263 (Hodge), 6-290 (Symonds), 7-290 (Hopes).

Bowling: Zaheer 10-1-61-2 (w-2), Sreesanth 9-0-58-2 (w-5), Pathan 10-0-57-2 (w-1), Harbhajan 10-1-38-0, Yuvraj 7-0-49-1, Tendulkar 4-0-22-0 (w-1).

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 31/0; 10: 61/0; 15: 86/1; 20: 110/1; 25: 125/2; 30: 140/3; 35: 175/3; 40: 207/3; 45: 258/4; end of innings: 290/7 in 50 overs.

Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 61/0; Power Play 2 (three men out): 11-15 overs: 25/1; Power Play 3: 16-20 overs: 24/0.

INDIA
Gambhir lbw Lee 6
(11b)

Tendulkar b Hogg 43
(71b, 6x4)

Uthappa lbw Johnson 0
(3b)

Dravid c Hayden b Lee 0
(4b)

Yuvraj b Johnson 121
(115b, 12x4, 3x6)

Dhoni c Gilchrist b Lee 33
(37b, 4x4)

R Sharma c Lee b Hopes 1
(4b)

Pathan lbw Hogg 3
(4b)

Harbhajan (not out) 19
(22b, 1x4, 1x6)

Zaheer c & b Hogg 3
(4b)

Sreesanth b Clark 1
(12b)

Extras (B-1, LB-3, W-8, NB-1) 13

Total (all out, 47.4 overs) 243

Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Gambhir), 2-11 (Uthappa), 3-13 (Dravid), 4-108 (Tendulkar), 5-173 (Dhoni), 6-176 (R Sharma), 7-183 (Pathan), 8-219 (Yuvraj), 9-226 (Zaheer).

Bowling: Lee 8-1-37-2 (w-3, nb-1),  Johnson 10-0-51-2 (w-3), Clark 8.4-1-44-1, Hopes 10-0-43-1, Hogg 9-0-46-3 (w-2), Hodge 2-0-18-0.

Scoring pattern: 5 overs: 15/3; 10: 34/3; 15: 50/3; 20: 75/3; 25: 108/4; 30: 134/4; 35: 167/4; 40: 188/7; 45: 226/9; end of innings: 243 all out in 47.4 overs.

Runs during: Power Play 1: 1-10 overs: 34/3; Power Play 2: 11-15 overs: 16/0; Power Play 3 (three men out): 16-20 overs: 25/0.