India vs Australia 2019: 3 things we learnt from the 2nd ODI

#2. Kedar Jadhav proving to be indispensable to the Indian team

Jadhav again picked up a crucial wicket

Kedar Jadhav has endured a roller coaster ride over the years. The batsman has had to battle numerous injury issues with his spot in the side always under a cloud.

However, over the course of the past couple of series, the lad from Maharashtra is making himself irreplaceable.

Capable of being a middle-order dasher, Jadhav has proven his worth with the bat on a couple of occasions recently. The serene innings at Melbourne was supplemented perfectly by another calm and calculated performance at Hyderabad.

Yet, it isn’t his batting that has made him a vital cog of the Indian wheel.

Since Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh were finally sent packing from the international arena, India has lacked a batsman adroit enough to turn his arm over in moments of strife. Thus, they had to compromise a touch on their batting to ensure that their bowling wasn’t affected.

However, with Jadhav in the mix, the Indian team is afforded the luxury of playing a batting all-rounder at No.7 with the pair combining to finish the fifth bowler’s quota.

In the game at Nagpur, that quality came to the fore with Vijay Shankar shining with the willow and Jadhav sending down eight excellent overs of spin bowling. Thus, emphasising the importance of the latter in the set-up.

It is quite strange to see a batsman cement his spot in the team courtesy his bowling exploits. Yet, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and for most, the World Cup qualifies as an exceptional circumstance.