Yuvraj Singh at New Chandigarh Stadium (PTI Photo) Cricket legends Yuvraj Singh and Harmanpreet Kaur got the honor of having stands named after them at the New Chandigarh Stadium on Thursday.Yuvraj, who was named player of the tournament at the 2011 ODI World Cup, and Harmanpreet, who led India to their first Women’s World Cup victory, celebrated the occasion with their loved ones and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
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Just before the second T20 International against South Africa, Yuvraj was spotted giving an inspirational speech to the Indian team during their team huddle.The stadium already houses a pavilion bearing the name of his former teammate Harbhajan Singh, and now Harmanpreet’s name adorns the stand opposite the screen on Thursday.Retaining an unchanged line-up, India won the toss and elected to bat first against South Africa in the second T20I at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh.The stadium makes history by hosting its first men’s international cricket match, becoming the 55th venue for international cricket in India. India lead the five-match series 1-0 and are looking to extend their lead.“It’s always been a great ground. When we played here during franchise cricket and recently we saw that the women’s match is also being played here, it was amazing and I heard it’s the first men’s match to be played here – international, so very excited. I’m sure the crowd is also excited,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said at the toss. “It’s really important that the lads understand their responsibilities and see what the team is asking for in that situation. They batted perfectly and looked at the situation. 175 on that wicket was a bit above par. The way we played I thought it was a lovely effort.“The balance he (Hardik Pandya) provides in the team is amazing. The way he batted, the way he keeps calm on the ground while batting, when it’s a pressure situation. The way he bowled, I think is more important. His overs are also really important for the side. The way he carried himself during the match, it didn’t look like he was hurt,” Suryakumar added.South Africa made three changes to their playing XI. Reeza Hendricks, Ottniel Baartman and George Linde replaced Tristan Stubbs, Keshav Maharaj and Anrich Nortje.“We’d put ourselves up. It looks like a good wicket. There aren’t many internationals but I’m hoping to get a good score and put them under pressure. We’ve got to accept that we can have nights like the first game and hope we put in a better effort today. We’ll get feedback on the score after a couple of overs, we didn’t think about it now,” South Africa captain Aiden Markram said.IND vs SA Playing XI:India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy and Arshdeep SinghSouth Africa: Resistance Henridge, Wk), Aiden Markram, David Miller.
