Kedar Jadhav couldn’t have chosen a better day to hit his second ODI to
PUNE : Indian skipper Virat Kohli got off to a brilliant start as the full-time skipper of the team across formats as Men in Blue defeated England by three wickets in the first one-day international played at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Kohli produced yet another century when his team needed it the most.
But while Kohli slammed his 27th ODI ton, it was Kedar Jadhav, who stunned not only Eoin Morgan’s men, but even his own team-mates and fans by launching an incredible counter-attack.
Playing on his home ground, Kedar came to the crease at a crucial moment, when India had lost the wicket of Mahendra Singh Dhoni with just 63 runs on board. The right-hander has the reputation of being a big-hitter, but unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to do justice at the big stage with his potential.
But he couldn’t have chosen a better day to hit his second ODI ton, as he was playing on his home ground, with his parents and wife cheering in the stands.
After scoring four runs off the first five balls, Jadhav changed gears in the 15th over of the innings where he hit Ben Stokes for two consecutive boundaries. He didn’t look back from there onwards and started hitting the ball so well, that Kohli started playing role of the second fiddle.
Jadhav raced to his fifty off just 29 balls and took another 36 balls to reach his century.Mighty pleased with Kedar’s knock, Kohli said, “He was disappointed in the last series against New Zealand when he couldn’t get us across the line. If you ask me describe his innings, it was outstanding.”
India have now taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second ODI is scheduled to be played at the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata on January 19.
