The Indian skipper wants the in-form left-hander to carry on from where he left off in Indore and complete a hat-trick of tons when India and England clash in the third ODI in Kanpur on Thursday.

Waxing eloquent on Yuvraj’s batsmanship, Dhoni said when in full flow, it was a pleasure to watch him play. “When he gets going, Yuvraj is simply one of the best (to watch), even the top bowlers struggle against him,” Dhoni said in a pre-match press conference, adding, “It has been pleasure to watch him play. Sachin and Sehwag are good too, but Yuvraj somehow stands out. I hope he goes on to score his third consecutive century here.”

On being quizzed what advice he gave Yuvraj, who was not in the best of form ahead of the series, Dhoni said: “I told him see the ball, hit the ball. At times when a player goes through a bad patch, you have to keep him motivated. At this level you don’t want to work on the basics, just a bit of an advice is good enough.”

Test comes first

Dhoni also made it clear on Wednesday that he would prefer to play the Test match against England rather than the T20 Champions League if need be. He was reacting to the ECB’s refusal to delay the first Test, which begins barely 10 hours after the Champions League final.

“As of now I have no information about this matter, but for me country will always come first,” said Dhoni, who will represent IPL runners up Chennai Super Kings in the event.

“I will go by whatever BCCI decides but in case I have to make a choice, I would like to play the Test match,” he said, stressing that cricketers, contrary to the belief were not always after money. “It’s not always about money. People who play for eight to ten years can earn ample amount of money. Two-three years of playing should also be enough to be comfortable. We realise that money will keep flowing in till the time we play.”

Toss crucial?

Meanwhile, England off-spinner Graeme Swann said winning the toss would be crucial. “We’ll surely look to bat first,” Swann said. Dhoni, however, didn’t attach too much importance to the toss. “Toss is not important here. It looks like a firm track and I don’t think there will be too much wear and tear,” he said.