Punjab had gone lengths to secure the services of Yuvraj Singh for the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Mumbai which commenced on Friday at the Wankhede stadium.
But their joy of having the ace India all-rounder must have easily turned into unwanted nuissance on day one of the tie.
Not only did Yuvraj fail on the field and with the bat, but also got into a verbal fight with a spectator.
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Yuvraj, who did not field for an hour after lunch, was caught and bowled by Nilesh Kulkarni for a duck. The brief three-ball stay on the wicket had already been an anti-climax to the two-day drama of making him available for the match.
To add insult to injury, a spectator from the few that sat on the top tier of the Garware Pavilion, hurled abuses at him as he walked back after his dismissal.
Irked by the comments, the 24-year-old went upto the gallery and had an altercation with the spectator before better sense prevailed and he walked back to the dressing room.
Yuvraj has never gelled well with the Mumbai crowd. Spectators had jeered him even during the teams' clash in 2001 in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals. Riding on Yuvraj's blistering innings of 135, Punjab had then defeated Mumbai by 207 runs.
