Yuvraj's all-round show powers India to series lead

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Led by Yuvraj Singh with bat, ball and in the field, India repelled a determined push from Salman Butt to pull off an ultimately comfortable 46-run win at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Butt's fourth ODI hundred intermittently threatened India's 294 but it was built without solid support and ultimately wasn't enough to prevent them taking a 2-1 series lead, reports Cricinfo.
Yuvraj foiled Pakistan at key moments, first with an intelligent, elegant 77, then with a shining run out amid a gloomy fielding performance and finally with a vital wicket. The interventions were necessary for when Pakistan began the chase, their target appeared a stroll.
It wasn't surprising that Butt was in the mix, for against India, he generally is. He averages 45 against them, as compared to 33 overall and all his hundreds have been against them.
But India soon wised up: Zaheer switched to round the wicket, the off side was tightened and Butt's cover drives made redundant. Boundaries vanished, runs slowed and wickets fell. For all their fielding comedy, India - or rather Yuvraj - managed to pull off a spectacular run out when it mattered, with Mohammad Yousuf being the lazy, familiar victim.
Spinners took over in the 20th over and a wily choke slowly fell into view: spin, bounce, little flight, gaps not easy to pierce, hurried play. Butt struggled against Harbhajan Singh in particular: he hit ten fours in his first fifty, but didn't hit another for 56 balls. Yuvraj bogged Shoaib Malik down first, before dismissing him and in this passage the result was written, though not without another nearly-there innings by Misbah-ul-Haq.
Yuvraj's earlier intervention was as decisive, with a familiar partner in crime. Yuvraj and Dhoni spell trouble for Pakistan for today they put on their fourth century stand against them in seven innings (average 99.8), and like the others, this came when it mattered most and at terrifying pace.
Pakistan had just clawed some momentum back after a poor start. Old men might struggle with early mornings, but Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were as sprightly as a pair of teens after being put in. Ganguly was blessed with a life off the first ball of the match when Kamran Akmal dropped him and it was just the boost he needed.
Duly, the pair punished Pakistan with boundaries. And just when another century stand awaited ODI cricket's greatest opening pair, Pakistan cut their losses along with their pace and brought in Sohail Tanvir. He responded with a wonderful, controlled spell, immediately finding the edge off Tendulkar, who thus fell, for the second match running, to cricket's unluckiest dismissal: caught Akmal.
A few run-light overs later, Ganguly too was gone and suddenly as Gautam Gambhir went, Pakistan strutted with collars upturned. But not for long. Yuvraj was dropped when still nervy, ironically by Butt. Dhoni and Yuvraj then took drinks, took stock and took control. Yuvraj made the first move, a spell of two runs in three overs broken by two sixes, swept and driven off Abdur Rehman.
Shoaib Akhtar and Afridi were treated as one, clubbed for three boundaries in two overs. Yuvraj was choosier, sweeping Afridi for four to reach fifty and celebrating the next ball with six. Afridi the legspinner is at his peak, but Indian batsmen don't care: two wickets in three games at nearly six an over in this series is in line with a career bowling average of nearly 58 against India.
SCOREBOARDIndia innings:
Ganguly b Sohail 39
Tendulkar c Kamran b Sohail 29
Gambhir b Rehman 25
Yuvraj c Misbah b Rehman 77
Dhoni b Shoaib 49
Uthappa b Gul 19
Pathan not out 17
Harbhajan not out 10
Extras: (b 6, lb 3, w 17, nb 3) 29
Total: (6 wickets; 50 overs) 294
Did not bat: M Kartik, Z Khan and RP Singh.
Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2-82, 3-129, 4-229, 5-260 and 6-265.
Pakistan innings:
Salman lbw b Harbhajan 129
Afridi b Pathan 12
Younis b Singh 21
Yousuf run out 16
Malik lbw b Yuvraj 12
Misbah b Kartik 38
Kamran c Harbhajan b Singh 2
Sohail run out 0
Rehman b Singh 2
Shoaib c sub (Sharma) b Khan 1
Gul not out 2
Extras: (lb 1, w 12) 13
Total: (all out; 47.2 overs) 248
Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-72, 3-104, 4-134, 5-214, 6-226, 7-231, 8-244, 9-246 and 10-248.
Toss: Pakistan, who chose to field first
Series: India led the 5-match series 2-1
Player of the match: Yuvraj Singh (India)