Kedar Jadhav Gives Experienced Guys The Opportunity To Bat Freely: Virat Kohli
Jan 22, 2017 at 11:28 PM
Things might not have gone perfectly as per plans for India in the third ODI at the Eden Gardens, but that doesn’t take away one bit of their success in the series. After an enthralling performance from the Men in Blue in the three-match series, Virat Kohli registered a 2-1 series win in his first ODI series as the full-time captain.
The game though, went down all the way to the wire as India’s new batting sensation Kedar Jadhav lit up the arena yet again with a superb knock of 90. Jadhav was quite calculated in his approach as he got together with all-rounder Hardik Pandya productively to get India back into the hunt. England, however, held their nerves and won the game by five runs.
In the post match presentation, Virat Kohli admitted that there were quite a few positives for the side in the series.
“It’s been a series of lot of positives for us,” said Kohli.
“The team showed a lot of character. “Even today (Sunday) we were five down, but two youngsters showing great character to fight and almost got us over the line. Jadhav gives the experienced guys the opportunity to bat freely by taking responsibility down the order.”
Speaking about the pitch laid out, Kohli said it was an ideal practice for the Champions Trophy.
“The moment I saw the pitch, I thought this was the perfect way to prepare for the Champions Trophy. Wickets are going to be similar, maybe not with the same amount of bounce that we got here. Their bowlers were more consistent on this surface and that is probably something we need to address,” said Kohli.
Ben Stokes, who was named the Man of the Match, was pleased with his performance and called it a fantastic series.
“It was a difficult time the last time I came down here. It was difficult to start with the bat, the ball was doing its bit. Woakesy played a very good hand towards the end as well. You get dew in India at this time of the night. It’s been fantastic to be a part of the series.”