Just three days after demonstrating his explosive strokeplay to hit an unbeaten 138 and help secure a 158-run victory in Rajkot, Yuvraj provided evidence of his all-round skills by performing with bat and ball.

His 118 off 122 balls helped India recover from 29-3 to reach a commanding 292-9, and then his underrated left-arm spin exposed England's technique on turning pitches to claim 4-28 as the tourists were dismissed for 238.

It was another stunning display by a player who has almost certainly done enough to earn a recall to India's Test side next month as a replacement for the retired Sourav Ganguly.

By then India should also have secured a comfortable victory in the seven-match series, having exposed major flaws in the game-plan which proved so successful for England in beating South Africa 4-0 in vastly different conditions two months ago.

"Playing in England is a bit easier because the ball is seaming, swinging and bouncing," said England captain Kevin Pietersen. "Here it's difficult, but I'm not stupid enough to think it would be similar out here."

It could have been so different had England built on a promising start, with Stuart Broad claiming three wickets in a five-over new-ball spell to leave India reeling on 29-3 as Yuvraj walked to the crease in the eighth over.

But for the second successive match Yuvraj played almost faultlessly, remaining patient to begin with before accelerating during a crucial partnership of 134 off 126 balls with opener Gautam Gambhir.

England's decision to play an unchanged side and field only one spinner backfired badly as India reached their daunting total.

Even after Yuvraj finally fell with six overs remaining, having hit 15 fours and two sixes, he had established a platform for all-rounder Yusuf Pathan to hit an unbeaten 50 from 29 balls and help add 82 in the final 10 overs.

"I think we definitely failed to capitalise on our start, but then again when you've got a guy batting like Yuvraj Singh it's pretty difficult," admitted Pietersen.

"He's a game-breaker, he's a guy who wins a game and when he's batting the way he is it's very difficult to get him out. They've got strength in depth in their batting, too, and they used it."

Brutal as their batting was, though, it was the examination by spin which underlined the gap in class between the two sides with India delivering 27 overs of spin and claiming 9-119.

With the next game in Kanpur on Thursday, improvements are required if England are not to sink without trace in the series, with off-spinner Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom both expected to enter the equation.

David Collier and Giles Clarke, the chief executive and chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, return to London having failed to reach agreement with Lalit Modi, the chairman of the IPL, over England's players participation in the Indian Premier League. Further talks are planned.

India v England

Indore: India won by 54 runs.

India

G Gambhir b Pietersen 70

V Sehwag b Broad 1

S K Raina c Patel b Broad 4

R G Sharma c Shah b Broad 3

Yuvraj Singh c Prior b Broad 118

M S Dhoni b Collingwood 15

Y K Pathan not out 50

Harbhajan Singh run out 8

Z Khan run out 1

R P Singh b S J Harmison 4

M M Patel not out 0

Extras b3 lb9 w4 nb2 18

Total 9 wkts (50 overs)292

Fall: 1-4 2-15 3-29 4-163 5-206 6-239 7-258 8-261 9-274

Bowling: Anderson 6 0 26 0; Broad 10 1 55 4; Flintoff 9 0 49 0; Harmison 7 1 50 1; Patel 5 0 37 0; Collingwood 8 0 43 1; Pietersen 5 0 20 1.

England

I R Bell run out 1

M J Prior b Yuvraj Singh 38

O A Shah lbw b Yuvraj Singh 58

K P Pietersen b Yuvraj Singh 33

A Flintoff lbw b Yuvraj Singh 43

P D Collingwood c & b Harbhajan Singh 2

S R Patel c Gambhir b Sehwag 20

R S Bopara c S K Raina b Pathan 3

S C J Broad b Sehwag 22

S J Harmison st Dhoni b Sehwag 6

J M Anderson not out 1

Extras lb2 w6 nb3 11

Total (47 overs) 238

Fall: 1-6 2-102 3-109 4-183 5-184 6-187 7-191 8-222 9-233

Bowling: Khan 8 1 37 0; M M Patel 7 0 31 0; R P Singh 5 0 49 0; Yuvraj Singh 10 0 28 4; Harbhajan Singh 10 0 45 1; Sehwag 5 0 28 3; Pathan 2 0 18 1.