game-changing" innings is the reason India were able to numb Pakistan with a "clinical" performance.

That was the conclusion arrived at by India captain Virat Kohli, who said Yuvraj transformed the
match and his team-mates' mindsets completely with his presence and his skills in a 124-run win over
Pakistan in their 2017 Champions Trophy showdown on Sunday.

Yuvraj's 53 off 32 balls was full of eye-catching strokeplay and helped India break free from a sluggish
phase towards the back end of their innings. After a stable but steady start provided by the opening
pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, India failed to press the accelerator, partly because of
intermittent disruptions caused by the frequent rain at Edgbaston.

Yuvraj, however, launched himself as soon as he arrived at the crease - an approach that lifted Kohli's
confidence.

"The way Yuvi batted, it was the game-changing innings, to be honest," Kohli said after the victory.
"That gave all of us the confidence to start striking the ball well."

Despite playing an ODI in England for the first time since 2007, Yuvraj showed no signs of struggle. He
had missed both the warm-up matches as he was recovering from a bout of viral fever which had laid
him low as soon as he arrived from India. Kohli has been a firm backer of Yuvraj, who, he believes has
the game suited for big occasions like Sunday.

"The way he batted was the way only he can strike the ball," Kohli said. "Hitting low full-tosses for
fours and sixes, and even digging out yorkers for fours, was outstanding."

When Yuvraj joined Kohli in the 37th over, the Indian captain was on 29 off 37 balls having just been
involved in the run-out of Rohit Sharma and struggling to find a rhythm. He had started off neatly, but
then got stuck - partly as a consequence of a rain delay that stopped play in the 34th over - something
not often seen with Kohli, even during Royal Challengers Bangalore's rough campaign in IPL 2017.
Kohli admitted that he was never fluent until he reached the half-century mark and that the rain
breaks muddled his thought process.

"I think till 40, I was easing into the game, taking my ones and twos like I always do," Kohli said. "I
could not go for the big ones because it was tricky. We went off about four times. And we came back
in, and so as a player who likes to play the long innings till the end and usually plays like that for the
team, it becomes very difficult to find momentum every time you come back and all you got to do is
play yourself in again."

However, Yuvraj, who struck 150 against England on January 19 in the last ODI series India played,
imposed himself on Pakistan quickly.

"When Yuvi came in, we didn't go back out again," Kohli said. "So, he started striking from ball one
and, as I said, that took pressure off me, and maybe I should have given him strike.

"That really deflated the opposition and that gave me a bit of time to settle in from the other end.
When he got out, I took over. But I think his innings was a difference in the game."

Kohli said that Yuvraj's success always rubs off positively on the rest of the team.

"If he plays like that you know the team is always in a good space because you can really rely on him
to come in and just play a match-changing innings, more often than not," Kohli said. "And he will end
up doing it three out of five times. That's why we back him at that spot."

Yuvraj departed 10 deliveries before India's innings closed. Kohli and Hardik Pandya then stroked 34
runs off the remaining 10 balls to take India to a formidable total. Kohli said that by then he had
found his mojo - he scored 36 runs off the last 11 balls of his innings - and Pandya's big hitting came in
handy towards the end.

"I decided to stay still and just back the strokes that I have, and a few connected, and that's what
happens in this sport," Kohli said. "Momentum comes your way, it goes away, but you've got to stay
patient. And when it comes back, you've got to capitalise on it. So I believe in myself, I can get 30 of
10 balls as well in the end. And it was just showing a bit more composure."

Nagraj Gollapudi is a senior assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

 ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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JOSE...P ON JUNE 5, 2017, 3:23 GMT

Yuvraj is playing an ODI in England after a whole decade! That too, in the conditions which prevailed
yesterday!

Can you believe it? Rhetorically speaking.

No cobwebs! No self doubts!

"I know myself well! And, I know what I can, And what else I need to care",

kind of an attitude, did let him play with such a gay abandon!

Let me state it, with no restraint! Despite all the doubts I have had, since his return from that dreaded
disease, he proved me wrong, to my utter delight. It is not jut a case of "muscle memory" as many
may glibly dismiss it away. The astuteness with which he executed his strokes belied his age and the
not so great BMI he carries along like an unwanted carry bag!

Just two words suffice for me to describe his stroke making as we witnessed yesterday!

LANGUID FLUIDITY!CRICFAN96013448 ON MAY 15, 2017, 3:25 GMT

Ha ha too funny theluckycountry. Have you forgotten the results of last year's Aus home test series
against SA? Face it: Australia are now a second rate team. Only SA and to a lesser extent Pakistan hold
the honor of being decent travelers.

CRICFAN57594910 ON MAY 15, 2017, 1:51 GMT

Forget about Dale Steyn at his best, fans would be lucky even if they see him bowling in few matches.
I think he would play a couple of test series at the most and call it off. And then maybe concentrate on
T20 leagues for another couple of years before calling it quits from cricket. Take a bow, man! You
entertained us for these many years.

CRICKETCHAT ON MAY 15, 2017, 1:00 GMT

My sincere advice to Steyn as a one of his ardent fans during his prime years is: please retire from the
game. As great as he was, he is in terminal decline for the last 4 years compounded with unending list
of injuries. SA has nothing to gain by rehabilitating him at huge cost for nothing in return.

Fawad Alam

Fawad Alam averages 56 in first-class cricket and his non-selection in Pakistan's Test squad has been a
mystery over the years. No selector has offered a satisfactory explanation.

Alam made his Test debut in 2009, when he was 24, and made 168 in his first Test at P Sara Oval. His
performances were less impressive in the next Test at the SSC, and then four months later in Dunedin,
and he's been on the outside ever since.

Seven years later, Alam is still a contender to fill one of the gaps left by Misbah and Younis'
retirements. He's fit, has been making runs in domestic cricket, and his extensive first-class experience
could make him the easy answer for the selectors.

Umer Amin

Azhar Ali and Umar Amin made their Test debuts against Australia at Lord's in 2010, but their careers
have taken divergent paths since then. Azhar's gone on to play 59 Tests and counting, while Amin's
tally has stalled at four - 99 runs at an average of 12.

The wow moment

His first six. Simply put, it wasn't even supposed to be one. When Corey Anderson was introduced into
the attack in the ninth over, he steamed in to Kohli from around the wicket and angled in a
scrambled-seam length ball. Kohli's response made for one of the shots of the IPL. Simply striding
forward, he presented the full face of the bat. He then chipped it in the air, over mid-off, and followed
it up with a lovely extension and follow-through of the bat. So clean were the connection and timing
that what was no more than a chip sailed all the way over the boundary. It was as clean a strike as you
would see, and made you wonder if he even intended to dispatch it for a six..

Stats that matter

Kohli's fourth fifty of the season also helped him overtake Kedar Jadhav to top RCB's batting charts for
the season. He ended with 308 runs from 10 innings at 30.80 and a strike rate of 122.22.

Kohli has crunched 149 runs off the 93 balls he has faced from Amit Mishra in the IPL. It is the second-
highest for a batsman against a single bowler in IPL history, behind Suresh Raina-Piyush Chawla. On
Sunday, he slapped Mishra for 19 off 9 balls. He struck at 211.11 against the legspinner while not
managing a strike rate of even 150 against the rest of Daredevils' attack.

What they said

"That six, honestly, I was looking to push it between the two fielders to try and pick up two but I think
Corey bowled a cross-seam ball. I'm pretty happy with the way I hit the ball today and more happy
that I did it in a winning cause."

Virat Kohli on the six against Corey Anderson

Akshay Gopalakrishnan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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PG65 ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:12 GMT

I am going to stick my neck out & say this that Kohli is probably one of the worst captains to develop
& mentor talent. Last year Sarfraz was in red hot form & was not used by RCB except for a match or
two & then dropped. This year we had to wait for a dead rubber to see the talent of Avesh Khan
otherwise going waste. I personally feel some captains don't like the spotlight taken away from them
& hence they feel threatened by youngsters. Thank God that Rishab Pant, Rana, Tripathi etc. are not
playing under him. They would have been left out in the cold & the world wouldn't know about their
skills. I remember Sanjay Manjrekar literally pleading as a commentator that Pant should be played in
an ODI against England but King Kohli still preferred to back a useless bowler like Ishant than give raw
talent a chance to flourish. In hindsight Saurav was probably our best ever captain.
Amin never returned to the Test side but was in the limited-over squads periodically - 15 ODIs and 10
T20Is - and featured in the Pakistan A team. He was often praised for his agility, work ethic and utility
as a bowler, but his prospects were hindered by injuries.

He now has 6589 runs at an average of 39 in 104 first-class games with a highest score of 281. Amin,
27, probably isn't an immediate contender for a Test spot but could push his case by performing
consistently in domestic cricket.

the guys on the same thing - If you are focused on the goal, the target you want to achieve, you don't
necessarily need to think too much about the game - in terms of your personal runs or where you
stand at the game," he said.

"Sri has worked with us on a number of occasions now all across our pathway system and he is
currently in Dubai with our Under-16 team providing his expertise on sub-continental conditions," Pat
Howard, Cricket Australia's executive general manager of team performance, said.

"He knows our players very well and has a wealth of knowledge on the conditions that our players will
face in India."

Sriram's presence on the India tour has been preferred to that of spin consultant John Davison, who
has

ts Kholi's india.?

FAN1969 ON JANUARY 21, 2017, 13:24 GMT

I am assuming the age factor against Yuvi and Dhoni will not be cited by Rahane fans after witnessing
two amazing centuries by the veterans of limited overs cricket.

Rahane should not be even in the 15/16 in limited overs cricket with Kedar, Karun, Manish, Rishabh
and hopefully more players coming through in the IPL.

Rahane is a wonderful Test batsman and would do well to concentrate on that along with Murali Vijay
and Pujara. I wish him good luck at IPL but not keen to see him selected for India limited overs teams.

PIRATES07 ON JANUARY 21, 2017, 13:17 GMT

@Fan1969 Runs scored by Dhawan in Australia were on flat tracks and a lean Australian attack.
Rahane hasn't performed well either but that doesn't mean Dhawan's poor performance can be
justified. Plus Dhawan during all this matches has played as an opener while Rahane has been tried at
different numbers.
PIRATES07 ON JANUARY 21, 2017, 13:13 GMT

Fakhar Zaman

Like Younis, Fakhar Zaman was also born in Mardan, a city in the Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
He's made a strong impression in the last year: second highest run-scorer in the 2016 Pakistan Cup,
prolific on the A tour of Zimbabwe, made 170 in the Quaid-e-Azam final, and was one of the successes
of the 2017 PSL.

Zaman, 27, played the three T20Is on the ongoing tour of the West Indies - arguably he was picked for
the wrong format - and has also been included in Pakistan's Champions Trophy squad. Having had
success in first-class cricket, Zaman has a strong case for Test selection too.

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent

ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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MILAN31 ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:15 GMT

Pakistan now face a big gap to fill in after the retirements of 02 giants of the game. But, this also gives
new super heroes to arise in the game. Azhar Ali is a very good number 3 for Pakistan but because of
proper opener, he has taken one slot in the opening department very well. Pakistan are still far away
from a solid opening foundation. It's time to bring back Umar Akmal in the test side as well. The new
combination may be like this - 1. Sami Aslam 2. Azhar Ali 3. Asad Shafiq 4. Babar Azam 5. Umar Akmal
6. Sarfaraz Ahmed 7. Fawad Alam 8. Yasir Shah 9. Mohd. Amir 10. Hasan Ali/Wahab Riaz 11. Mohd.
Abbas

Umar Amin, Shan Masood doesn't belong to Test cricket. Few more names from Pakistan A or U-19
side are most welcome.

MFNADEEM ON MAY 15, 2017, 5:13 GMT

Dear Umar Farooq, how could you ignore Haris Sohail who is 28 years old, and is averaging 52 in FC
cricket?

NKHAN_USA ON MAY 15, 2017, 4:57 GMT

My Vote goes for Fakhar Zaman and Usman SalahudinSanju Samson, Karun Nair and Shreyas Iyer,
Daredevils' three main batsmen before Pant's power kicks in, have shown flashes of brilliance, but
their final match this season was a reminder that disappointment has been the more dominant feeling
with them. Avesh Khan, former Under-19 star and making his T20 debut, surprised Samson with
bounce first ball of the chase, but Samson responded with a limp front-foot pull to get out second
ball. Nair and Iyer played longer innings, but they hit innocuous-looking deliveries straight to fielders
to make it 87 for 3 in the 12th over.

Harshal's highs

Harshal Patel is not a regular for Royal Challengers, but he struck regularly on the night to keep
dragging Daredevils back. He had sussed the pitch, and kept banging the ball into the surface with
fingers rolled on it. Iyer fell to that followed by a big offbreak to Marlon Samuels first up. Corey
Anderson survived the hat-trick ball, but his innings of three off nine made it really difficult for Pant.

Pant didn't give up, though, swatting Harshal for a six first up when he came back for the 17th over,
with 49 required off the last four. Harshal, though corrected, himself immediately and bowled three