145;Pie-chucker146; hits back: If I146;m useless, KP146;s useless too

The tension had been building up through the last two sessions of play on Monday...

The tension had been building up through the last two sessions of play on Monday, but Yuvraj Singh8217;s opening lines at the post-match press conference ensured there wasn8217;t a single person in the hall who wasn8217;t laughing.

8220;I have a new name now,8221; he told newsmen, 8220;it8217;s pie-chucker8221;.

He was referring to England skipper Kevin Pietersen8217;s comments on Sunday, where he had referred to Yuvraj as a 8220;pie-chucker8221; bowling 8220;left-arm filth8221;.

Yuvraj countered: 8220;I have dismissed Kevin on five occasions and if it is useless bowling for him, then I would say that it is useless batting by him as well.

8220;At the same time, I respect KP for being a phenomenal cricketer. I did not know what the comments meant, someone told me that it meant useless bowling,8221; Yuvraj, smiling, went on.

Yuvraj also had a go at Pietersen8217;s bowling. 8220;I think I have a better action than him8230; he is a useless bowler. He can work on his bowling. I can chip in with some tips maybe, like how to bowl in the rough. We will surely have a chat after the match. But I like the name.8221;

8216;Good friends8217;

It emerged later that Yuvraj himself, unsurprisingly, was keen to come for the media conference.

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Yuvraj conceded that he does get fired up against England: 8220;I like to go after the bowlers and get under their skin. At the end of the day, me and KP are good friends off the field. But obviously when we are on the field we are playing for the country and a battle is on. I think it is the relationship which India shares with England, right from the T20 World Cup. It is simply healthy competition.8221;

Yuvraj, who graduated in the early part of his career at the PCA Stadium, also gave his thumbs up to Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a captain. 8220;This year has been very good for the team. Everyone is gelling well, getting results and looking forward to cricket all the time. I think winning the T20 world championship and beating Australia here was quite special and I8217;m looking to make tomorrow a special one.8221;