Indore: Allrounder Yusuf Pathan said he was prepared to bat at any position so long as it helps the team pile on a match-winning total.

The stocky right-hand batsman scored a crucial unbeaten half-century batting down the order against England on Monday.

“I am willing to bat wherever I get the opportunity to serve the team best,” said the 26-year-old, who also clarified that he had celebrated his birthday last month and not on Monday as wrongly noted by some statisticians.

“This performance will give me a lot of confidence and I dedicate my first ODI half century to my parents,” he told reporters after his team’s 54-run win.

Yusuf came in at No. 7 and smashed an unbeaten 50 to propel the team total to a commanding 292/9 and also picked a wicket in the second ODI against England.

The allrounder said Monday’s victory was a team effort and it was important for him not to lose his wicket.

“We knew it was not an easy wicket to bat on… I wanted to score as many runs as possible to give our team a good total,” he said.

England captain Kevin Pietersen put on a brave face after the second straight loss to India, saying that his team’s performance had considerably improved from the huge loss they suffered in Rajkot.

“We certainly played good cricket on Monday and were in the game before losing it. We were totally outplayed in the first game. I see it as an improvement,” Pietersen said.

India, however, made it clear that there would be no let-up in intensity in the remaining matches of the series against England.

“Right from the start of the series, we have put pressure on England and in the next matches also, we would be doing the same,” vice-captain Virender Sehwag said.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sehwag admitted they had not expected the 290-plus score after a weak start on a two-paced track. (Agencies)

HIGHLIGHTS

Gautam Gambhir (when on 5) became the first player in 2008 to score 1000 runs in ODIs.

Yuvraj Singh (118) became the ninth player to score 1000 runs in ODIs vs England.

Yuvraj (118) became the second Indian player to score 1000 runs in ODIs vs England.

MS Dhoni (15) became the second batsman to score 1000 runs in the calendar year 2008 after Gambhir. Dhoni has now scored 1000 runs in a calendar year for the second successive year. He had scored 1103 runs in 2007 as well.

Yuvraj (118) became the fifth Indian to score back to back ODI hundreds. The others in the list are Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

(Compiled by Mohandas Menon)