Yuvraj takes Punjab into finals (December 1999)

The Cooch Behar Trophy has traditionally been a platform on which the careers of promising young players have been made. A success in this tournament would catch the eye of the selectors and propel youngsters on to bigger things. This has worked both ways. The gritty and determined youngsters raise the level of their game and others destined for less glory find the pressure too much to take and crumble.

The semi final clash between Punjab and Madhya Pradesh is a case in point. When the Mahya Pradesh captain V Joshi won the toss and elected to bat first at the Telco Club Ground in Jamshedpur he would have hoped to pile up a big score and put pressure on the Punjab team. However, this was not to be as the Punjab team turned the tables on the Madhya Pradesh side with some good tight bowling. As always, Yuvraj Singh bowling his tight spinners played a crucial role.

Stumper Srivastava batting well on 101 looked as if he would take the game slowly but surely away from the Punjab side. Yuvraj trapped him LBW, stopping him and Madhya Pradesh dead in their tracks. Picking up three more wickets in the innings, Yuvraj cleaned up the tail, cutting the Madhya Pradesh innings short to 268. While 268 was not a score that gave Punjab a good chance of an outright result, it was at least small enough a total to pose no problems.

The Punjab youngsters at the top of the order got into the act right away. Bludgeoning the bowling, Yuvraj Singh translated good bowling form into something more substantial - a century! Getting stuck in at the crease with Manish Sharma, Yuvraj was invloved in a second wicket stand of 119 runs. Yuvraj was in spectacular form, creaming the bowling for 17 fours and 2 sixes on his way to 122. By the time he was dismissed, Punjab were 318/3, and well past the Madhya Pradesh total. The match was safely drawn and Punjab were through to the finals. Yuvraj had controlled the course of the game with both bat and ball. What more could a captain ask for?