As he stepped onto the greens at the Sector 16 Stadium,it was like going down memory's lane for Yuvraj Singh. It was here that the Indian cricket star had learnt his first cricketing lessons and as he played a practice match for the Kings XI Punjab at the Stadium today,Yuvraj was his usual self. Kings XI Punjab take on Delhi Daredevils on Saturday in the IPL and Yuvraj stays the best bet for Kings XI. And from what he showed today,injury or no injury bowlers beware: In the 39 balls that he faced,Yuvraj hit four huge sixes and five fours in his knock of 63. It wasn't difficult,as it was here that Yuvraj had scored his first century in competitive cricket. "Against Gurdaspur in Katoch Shield in 1995," he was quick in recalling the inning,"and that made me believe in myself." Today Yuvraj was merciless. Soon after he hit his fourth six,Yuvraj retired hurt because of stiff wrist and went straight to the team physio Patrick Farhat. "It feels amazingly good playing here. It is the same ground where I started playing cricket. I remember being dragged to the nets by my father (Yograj Singh) and made to hit the ball for hours." As a kid,Yuvraj was always more interested in skating rather than cricket. And it was on his father's continued insistence that he had to leave his first love skating and take up cricket as full-fledged sport. After dominating the domestic cricket at a young age,Yuvraj Singh made international debut at Nairobi against Kenya in 2000 and has never looked back. Getting nostalgic about his early years spent in Chandigarh,the 28-year-old southpaw told Newsline,"I cherish the time spent at the stadium. Both me and Harbhajan Singh were part of the Pace Academy under DP Azad sir. Both of us still talk about those carefree days. Then there was coach Harish Sharma who would pester me to do well in the local tournaments. I made some good friends at the Stadium when I was growing up. Girish Bhanot was one of them,but I never spared him also and he had to face my banter whenever he bowled." "Other than the century against Gurdaspur,I remember one against PSEB when I hit 120 runs in 60 balls. Chandigarh holds special memories for me and so does the Stadium. It feels wonderful being back here. There is something in the air that keeps one going." And just when Yuvraj was getting nostalgic,his mother Shabnam sprang a surprise. She came to the Stadium with an aunt of Yuvraj alongwith Yuvraj's favourite dish: 'kadi chaval' - "Mazaa aa gaya kadi chaval khaake . It was a perfect lunch for me coupled with mother's love." Yuvraj's knock goes in vain Giving ominous signs to opposition teams what was to come,Yuvraj Singh clobbered 69 runs,that too off just 42 balls,and showed that he was the still the best sweet timer of the ball. However,the former Kings XI Punjab skipper's knock went in vain as his team Kings XI B lost to Kings XI A by four wickets during a practice match played at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Batting first,Kings XI B mustered 165 for 3 in the stipulated 20 overs. Apart from Yuvraj who hit five boundaries and four towering sixes during his knock,Sunny Sohal (37) and Reetinder Sodhi (31) were the other chief contributors. Vikramjit Malik,Yusuf Abdulla and Rajesh Sharma picked up one wicket each. In reply,Kings XI A made 166 for 6 in 19.2 overs. Ravi Bopara top scored with 69 off 42 balls,which also included ten boundaries and one huge six. Irfan Pathan and Piyush Chawla took two wickets each. Brief scores: Kings-XI B: 165 for 3 in 20 overs (Yuvraj Singh 63,Sunny Sohal 37,Reetinder Sodhi 31 no,Vikramjit Malik 1 for 28,Rajesh Sharma,1 for 35,Yusuf Abdulla 1 for 46); Kings-XI A: 166 for 6 in 19.2 overs (Ravi Bopara 69,Mahela Jayawardene 18,Sangakkara 14,Piyush Chawla 2 for 31,Irfan Pathan 2 for 53,Sreesanth 1 for 31).
