What’s the story?
Indian captain Virat Kohli has lavished praise on fellow centurion Kedar Jadhav for his exploits in the first ODI against England at the MCA Stadium in Pune. During the post-match press conference, the 28-year old asserted that their match-winning partnership was among the best he had been involved in thus far.
Kohli affirmed, “I think it was outstanding – I mean, just to have another guy who is willing to believe that you can win from any situation was such a boost for me as well to keep pushing (hard). I thought it was one of the best partnerships I have been part of, really enjoyable. As I (had) said in the post-match presentation, we chased 350 a couple of times before. But, not from 63/4. So, it was something really special and it would stay with me for a long time.”
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The hosts began their run-chase of 351 rather shakily by losing a heap of wickets at the top of the order. Despite the situation looking daunting, Kohli and Jadhav never wavered in their belief. The duo put on 200 runs for the fifth wicket to take the game away from England’s reach. Though both batsmen departed in the 120s, they had done enough to douse the visitors’ hopes.
The heart of the matter
The skipper referred to the Delhi ODI against New Zealand wherein Jadhav appearing to be thriving in a tricky run-chase before steering the ball to the wicket-keeper’s hands. India would go on to lose that particular match by just six runs. However, this time, the diminutive right-hander was in total control and did not leave a lot to do for those batting below him.
Kohli felt, “If you ask me one word for his innings – outstanding. The way he came out, he knew exactly how he wanted to bat on this wicket which I think was tremendous against (the) four quick bowlers they had. I think he tackled all of them really well.
“He put a lot of pressure on the spinners so the spinners could not come back into the game. I think it was one of the best calculated innings I have seen. Striking at 150 (157.89) was outstanding. And all (of them were) clean shots, he did not slog the ball once.”
What next?
Even as both Kohli and Jadhav fell before the team could cross the 300-run mark, the lower-order completed the formalities without too much fuss. Hardik Pandya complemented his commendable bowling effort with an unbeaten 40 to propel India to a three-wicket victory and the accompanying 1-0 lead in the 3-match series. The second ODI will be held on Thursday at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Since Kohli has been involved in numerous game-changing partnerships in the 50-overs format, it becomes difficult to ascertain which one takes the cake. Taking the situation into account, the run-machine's vital stand with Jadhav in Pune is certainly among the very best of his career thus far. The intensity at which the duo operated has helped India usher in 2017 on a winning note.
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