Yuvraj Singh believes that India's top order batsmen need to make "different plans" to tackle Muthiah Muralitharan, as the ban on the ace spinner's most lethal delivery has not reduced his destructive power.
"He's got the same kind of turn. Maybe, it's a difference of 97 to 100 per cent, but he is quite the same bowler," said Yuvraj, who scored 47 against Murali despite not looking entirely comfortable against the Sri Lankan spin wizard.
Muralitharan has been restricted by the authorities from bowling his 'doosra', the delivery which turns away from a right-hander, in international matches because it has been detected that he bends his arm above the permissible limit.
Yuvraj feels such is Murali class that he realises the need to develop a couple of strokes to come to terms with the bowler's rich repertoire of deliveries.
"I need to practice a couple of shots against him because he is their main bowler and turns the ball very sharply. It is also difficult to play Murali on these tracks because they suit him. We have got to make different plans for him. We have to make adjustment in our game to play him," Yuvraj said.
Yuvraj said it was this policy that made him adjust his game against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
"We were down by four wickets. I was not getting my timing right and struggling a bit. I just wanted to hang in there and have a stand with Rahul Dravid.
"We thought if we need 80-85 runs in the last 10 overs and if we had wickets in hand, we might get it in the end. We thought it was a close game," the Punjab batsman said.
Yuvraj disagreed with the view that if Murali would not be bowling his main weapon it made batsmen feel more secure in the middle.
"You don't think about it because when you are in a match you don't think what he is going to bowl. You just concentrate on how he has bowled that delivery.
"You don't want to put too many things in your head while facing a bowler," he said.
Yuvraj was disappointed at India's loss against the hosts and said it is wrong to say it was a wake up call or a blessing in disguise for an extremely talented team like India.
"Losing is never a blessing in disguise because everybody wants to win. Everyone hates losing and we didn't like it on Sunday. We wanted to top the table. Now we want to win all three games," he said.
The dashing middle order batsman from Punjab blamed himself for the defeat after getting out at a critical time.
"I had to go for runs. I played a loose shot and took the wrong area. I think we need to improve as the tournament progresses."
He said it is wrong to believe that his team's batsmen are not in the best of form, and added that, in a way, it reflected how highly regarded the Indian batting line-up is.
"We got 260 in the first match and 270 in the second. But we can't take Bangladesh lightly for they played well against the West Indies."
More from rediff