Mumbai, Mar 26: Baroda’s Kedar Jadhav entertained the crowd at the Bandra Kurla Complex with a 40-ball 96, peppered with eleven boundaries and six hits over the ropes. He was ably supported by opener Aditya Wagmode who scored a relatively sedate 40-ball 60. The duo ensured a comfortable win for Baroda in the first semi-final against Delhi in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
In the post-match media interaction, Kedar spoke about his innings. Excerpts:
On your blistering knock
It was a good wicket to bat on and the ball was coming on to the bat. We lost our first wicket in the second over so I thought if I played a positive knock, maybe it would help the team.
On comparing the pitches used on the two consecutive days
Yesterday the ball was stopping a bit before coming on to the bat; today it was coming on to the bat very well.
On being a strong leg-side player
My strength is actually on the off-stump but the way they were bowling, they were attacking more on the leg-stump. I had to change my game a bit and hence those shots on the leg-side.
On whether 170 was a competitive target
Yes, actually it was a competitive total. A knock like this comes only once in ten times. Because it was a good knock, the game became easy. Otherwise it was a competitive score.
On whether he would call this his best knock till date
Yes.
On whether he could be a T20 specialist
Can’t say anything like that. Depends on my game. Also, you have to play according to the situation. Today I felt if one batsman attacks, it would be good for our team, so I started attacking the Delhi bowlers and we got to a good score.
On whether he enjoys playing the limited-overs game where there are fielding restrictions, or the longer format
[....] You can play big shots only in the Powerplays because only two players are outside the circle. So it feels good to play then. In T20, the more runs you score, the better it is for the team. [...]
On missing out on his century by four runs
I did not know I was batting on 96. I was batting with the flow and had not seen the scoreboard. I wanted to keep batting with the flow and had not thought about the century.
On his preferred batting position
I like to open the innings. I am an opener but today the coach asked me to bat at No 3.
On his idol
Sachin Tendulkar. I love his cover drive. I have never met him.
On the final
Just like today: bat positively [is my mantra]. Even if we are batting first, we will try to play positively and make as many runs as we can.
On his natural game
The attacking game comes naturally to me.
