IND vs PAK: Was Mentally Preparing To Bat At No.4 Against Pakistan - Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja, India all-rounder starred with the bat for his team who won their first encounter in the Asia Cup 2022 against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday by 5 wickets. Though he went wicketless with the ball, he made a crucial 35 runs at no.4 helping steady the ship for the Men in Blue.

Pakistan had made 147 runs after being asked to bat by Rohit Sharma, who won the toss and chose to field first. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked 4/26 and Hardik Pandya took 3/25, while Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 43 runs.

In the chase, India lost their openers relatively cheaply as KL Rahul fell for a golden duck to debutant Naseem Shah, while Mohammad Nawaz got rid of Rohit Sharma for 12 runs. Virat Kohli, who looked in sublime touch and scored eye-pleasing 35 runs in 34 balls, was also dismissed by Nawaz after being enticed to play a false shot.

I Knew I Would Have To Go In: Ravindra Jadeja On Batting At No.4 Against Pakistan

India soon found itself in trouble when Suryakumar Yadav also got out after scoring 18 runs with India at 89/4. Ravindra Jadeja, being the only left-hander in the top six, was promoted to no.4 to counter leggie Shadab Khan and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz.

Jadeja made 35 runs in 29 balls and got out in the last over trying to hit a six to inch India closer to the win. But his invaluable 52-run partnership for the 5^th wicket with Hardik, who made 33* in 17 balls, proved to be the game changer for India.

Talking about the same, Jadeja said that he was mentally readying himself to bat at no.4.

“Yeah, sometimes when a left-arm spinner or leg spinner is bowling, you send in a left-handed batter because it is easier as they can take the chances. So, in the top seven, I was the only left-hander in the last game. I somehow knew that such a situation would happen because, after seeing their playing eleven, we got to know that they have a left-arm spinner and a leg spinner. So I knew I would have to go in. So I was preparing myself mentally to go in and luckily, the runs I scored were crucial for the team,” said Jadeja.

He was asked if he will be seen batting at no.4 more, the all-rounder was unsure and said that every opponent has different bowlers and the team would be planning according to that.

“That I don’t know. Every opponent has different type of bowlers. So we plan according to that,” said Jadeja.

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