Melbourne Feb 3: All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was named Man-of-the-Match for his fielding in India’s first win of the tour that came in the second T20I against Australia. With youngsters coming into the side for the shorter version of the game, the team has been transformed into a high-energy unit.
Jadeja spoke to the media about his teammates and his game after the win at the MCG. Excerpts:
On his bowling
The conditions here are a little different. The wicket is really flat and you don’t get the kind of turn that you get in India. I try to mix it up a bit and bowl the slow balls, etc. to keep the batsmen in check. I will look to vary my pace and [hope to] get some help from the wicket and get some turn, like the Australians did in the last match. I will try and mix the deliveries in the one-dayers.
On the team
We have a very good fielding unit, good young players like Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli and myself. We keep talking to each other and back each other up well. […] Good ODI team.
On what India did differently to finally register their first win in Australia
Rain played a role in the last match. When they batted, the wicket was flat. When we came out to bat the wicket had became slow and damp due to the slight rain. So when they were bowling, the ball was gripping and turning. The wicket behaved differently in the second innings, hence there was a bit of a problem. […].
On the wicket at the MCG
Today the wicket was good. We took two wickets early and then the run-outs in the middle helped us. They were on the back-foot from the beginning and we carried our momentum to the end. Gauti bhai [Gautam Gambhir] batted well till the end and got us the win.
On the run-outs
Those were two crucial run-outs for us there. They were in a good position till then but after the two run-outs they were on the back-foot
On the IPL auction
I was not thinking about the auction. It is a good thing that we have won the match. It is a good thing that I have performed well. […].
