If Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma Are Set, It's Tough To Get Them Out: Ravindra Jadeja
Following Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s masterclass in the eight-wicket win over Windies in the first ODI, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said it is very difficult to contain the duo when they are batting in full flow.
Windies would have thought they were in with a great chance when their innings ended in Guwahati. Fifty from Kieran Powell and a stunning 78-ball 106 runs knock from Shimron Hetmyar fired Windies to a competitive 322 for 8. However, the score turned out to be too less for the high-flying hosts.
The Men in Blue were off to a poor start, losing in-form opener Shikhar Dhawan for just 4. However, that was not a precursor of the things that were to follow. Virat Kohli looked in red-hot form right from the time he came to bat and had a perfect second-fiddle in the form of Rohit Sharma.
While Rohit looked cautious early on, Kohli batted in top gear right from the start. India crossed the 50-run mark in just the 8th over while Kohli reached his fifty off just 36 balls.
Rohit, on the other hand, reached his fifty off 51 balls. The right-hander shifted gears after surpassing the fifty run-mark while Kohli continued to bat in the same manner. Consequently, he reached his century off 88 balls. Soon, Rohit joined the century club too.
West Indies finally managed a breakthrough when Devendra Bishoo dismissed Kohli for 140 to end the mammoth 246-run stand.
Rohit, who remained unbeaten on 152, and Ambati Rayudu then took the team home in the 43rd over.
And speaking at the post-match press-conference, Ravindra Jadeja rightly said that containing the two once they are in full flow is a herculean task.
“If they are set, it’s tough to get them out. They can hit groundstrokes and in the air with equal ease. It becomes tough against such batters,” said Jadeja
“They played proper cricketing shots. They did not take any chances, they were just playing according the situation,” he added.
Jadeja further said that India were confident of chasing down the big total. At the same time, he admitted that the team was unsure of how the pitch would behave.
“Wicket was also very good to bat on. It was not spinning or swinging much. The ball was coming nicely to bat. It was an ideal condition for the batsmen,” Jadeja said.
“After they scored 320-plus, we did not know how it will behave in the second half. But after the start we got following (Shikhar) Dhawan’s wicket we thought we could chase it down. Overall it stayed true throughout the game,” he said.
