Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja acknowledged his CSK teammate and former India cricketer, MS Dhoni, after scoring a match-winning knock of 66* in 50 deliveries that comprised 5 fours and 3 sixes at a strike rate of over 130 in the third and final ODI at Manuka Oval, on Wednesday.
Create your own fantasy team now on the MPL Fantasy cricket app
The southpaw came out to bat in the 32nd over post skipper Virat Kohli’s dismissal on 63 and forged an unbeaten 150 run stand alongside fellow all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who compiled a 76-ball 92* with 7 fours and a six. This was India’s third best partnership for the sixth-wicket in the 50-over format, and the third consecutive 300-plus total in the concluded 3-match ODIs.
Jadeja shared the advice that MS Dhoni has given him over the years when batting alongside the Indian cricket team and at CSK. He took the game deep in the same fashion as the former Indian skipper and reaped benefits at the crucial stages of the contest, scoring over 100 runs in the last ten overs and setting a 303-run target for Aaron Finch-led Australia.
Once set, MS Dhoni looks to play big shots, says Ravindra Jadeja
“Absolutely, Mahi Bhai has played for such a long time for India and Chennai and he has set a pattern that he tries to build a partnership with whichever batsman is playing and once he gets set, he looks to play the big shots,” said Jadeja in the post-match presentation.
The 31-year-old Jamnagar-born added, “So, in my opinion, looking at him batting so many times in such situations and I have played with him as well. He tells me that if we take the match to the end, then a lot of runs can come in the last four to five overs. So, it was the same situation today and that is what we tried, Hardik and I were talking that we can take a chance in the last five overs as one side was short, so that was the plan.
Initially, it looked like a 260-270 run total, but the tides turned in the tourists’ favor at the latter stages of the contest. Pandya accelerated the run-rate with his big-hitting while Jadeja anchored from an end, and sometime later, the duo then unleashed an assault onto the Aussie attack, slamming a whopping tally of 76 runs in the last five overs to take the Indian side past 300-runs.
Virat Kohli & Co will be looking to capitalize on the momentum and register a win in the first of the three-match T20I series scheduled to take place on December 4 at Manuka Oval, in Canberra.
Know about the important skills required to play fantasy cricket
