His mind at ease, Yuvraj lets his bat do the rest

Today, though, circumstances were different — and so was Yuvraj. The first-innings duck could have inhibited him but instead there was a swagger in his stride and in the follow-through to his dazzling shots.

Obviously, confidence was high and there was only one reason for it: His place in the team now appears more secure. For a change he wasn’t the last disposable link of the batting chain, nor was he being forced to open the innings. For a change he got his favoured No 5 slot.

His mind free of tension over the next selection committee meeting Yuvraj showed a new dimension to his game. Known for his free-flowing batting against pacers on bouncy tracks, today he played the spinners with utter disdain.

He entered the field with the score reading 34/3 and the Lankans spinners threatening to run through the Indian line-up on a pitch that seemed three paced — the odd ball bouncing, some keeping low and some rare balls coming on after a true bounce. Of his 75 runs, 66 came against the spinners and he was particularly severe on Malinga Bandara, who’d had him twice in the series.

Yuvraj had another score to settle today. After taking India past the comfort zone he hit three fours in a Murali over — two stunning sweeps and a crisp cover drive.

When asked if, during his innings today, he’d been thinking about cementing his place in the side, Yuvraj replied: ‘‘Not really, as I was more keen to put India in a winning position.’’

Yuvraj has made his statement. When the Sourav Ganguly case is next discussed a few clippings from Motera should be taken into consideration.