Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja (Credits: Twitter)

Former India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has lavished praise on Ravindra Jadeja’s batting after the latter starred with the bat in the first ODI against Australia. India, on Friday (March 17), beat Australia by 5 wickets in a low-scoring affair at the Wankhede Stadium to take the lead in the three-match series.

After deciding to bowl first, India came up with a stunning display with the ball, bowling out Australia for just 188. Fast-bowlers Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj made the most of the conditions in Mumbai as they picked up 3 wickets apiece. Jadeja also made a big impact with the ball as he claimed 2 wickets.

In reply, India were in all sorts of trouble as Mitchell Starc and Marcus Stoinis ran riot with the ball. The duo had India reeling at 16 for 3 and then 83 for 5. Another wicket at that stage would have been disastrous for the hosts. However, Jadeja and KL Rahul did not let Australia claw their way back into the game after the 5th wicket.

The duo shared an unbeaten stand of 108 runs to take India home with ease in the end. Rahul remained unbeaten on 71 while Jadeja scored 45 and was adjudged the Man of the Match for his all round display.

Zaheer Khan praises Ravindra Jadeja:

With Ravindra Jadeja coming up with another impressive display with the bat, Zaheer Khan has hailed him. The fast-bowling great opined that Jadeja has evolved as a batter and thrives in pressure situations.

“Jadeja the batsman has evolved over the years and he is able to thrive in these situations, and enjoys these kinds of challenges. So when he is out there, you also have the belief that this guy is going to absorb the pressure and hang in there and that’s something which was very important,” Zaheer told Cricbuzz.

Ravindra Jadeja celebrating a wicket with his teammates
Ravindra Jadeja celebrating a wicket with his teammates (Credits: BCCI/Twitter)

Speaking about the first ODI, Zaheer said that the partnership between Rahul and Jadeja was always going to be the most important. The former bowler stated that there was still a lot of runs left when Jadeja joined Rahul in the middle.

“When you have a batsman like KL Rahul at the other end, who is going so strong, then you need that kind of assurance.

“The partnership between KL and Jadeja was always going to be the most important one because when Hardik got out, there were still a lot of runs left in the game and another wicket there could have really put the Indian team under pressure,” Zaheer said.

The second ODI is scheduled to be played on Sunday (March 19) in Visakhapatnam. India will be looking to seal the series by winning the upcoming game. The hosts will also be bolstered by the return of their skipper Rohit Sharma for the game after he missed the series-opener due to a family wedding.

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