Ravindra Jadeja won his third Player of the Match award in five matches, sandwiched between a Player of the Series award which he shared with Ravichandran Ashwin during the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Jadeja picked up 2 wickets, completed a sensational diving catch and returned unbeaten at 45 helping India beat Australia by five wickets at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
After an early scare, which saw Hardik Pandya’s side reduced to 39/4 in their chase of 189, however, KL Rahul and Jadeja stitched together a crucial 108-run match-winning partnership.
Earlier, Jadeja picked up the crucial wicket of Mitchell Marsh after Pandya had won the toss and invited Australia to bat first. While Travis Head fell cheaply but his opening partner Marsh would go on to score 81 runs.
Jadeja however removed the Aussie opener at a crucial juncture in the match, which marked the collapse of the visitors. They went from 139/4 to 188 all out.
ALSO READ| USA Stripped as Co-host of 2024 T20 World Cup | Exclusive
The Indian all-rounder who played his first ODI match after more than 8 months out due to injury, made a stellar return to the format.
Shedding light on how he adjusted from the longest format to the 50-over format, Jadeja said that he was simply looking to adjust his line and lengths, along with altering the pace.
“I’m playing ODI cricket after 8 months so I was just looking to adapt to the format as soon as possible. Luckily with the ball, I got a few wickets,” the 34-year-old told the broadcaster in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“When I went to bat, I was looking to build a partnership with KL. I knew that the total was small but still we had to chase it down. We’ve been playing Test cricket. Line and length is different to Test cricket. You have to alter your lengths and pace,” added Jadeja.
ALSO READ| IND vs AUS, 1st ODI: Hardik Pandya Fumes After Being Stopped In His Run-Up By Mitchell Marsh, Watch
“I was looking to bowl in good areas and I was also getting a bit of turn. I was looking to build a partnership today of about 70-80 runs, and that’s what happened. It was not easy to play the big shots because the ball was swinging,” stated the Indian all-rounder further.
With a fighting victory over Australia, India took a 1-0 lead in the ODI series and now the attention turns to the second ODI which is scheduled to be played at Visakhapatnam on Sunday, March 19 as the hosts would look to seal the series along with the return of full-time captain Rohit Sharma.
Get the latest Cricket News here
Comments
0 comment