MS Dhoni tells me that if we take the match to the end, then a lot of runs can be scored: Ravindra Jadeja

Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja credited former Indian cricketer, MS Dhoni after he smashed a match-winning 50-ball 66 against Australia in the third and final ODI. Jadeja came to bat when the Men in Blue were straining at 152/5 after 32 overs. But from there on, he put on an unbeaten 150-run stand with Hardik Pandya, who scored 92 runs off 76 balls.

Jadeja stated that the 39-year-old Dhoni has advised him to take the game deep until the last five overs when a lot of runs can be scored. In the last 10 overs, India scored 110 runs, taking their eventual score to 302. The Saurashtra-born Jadeja said that playing alongside Dhoni has helped him to a large extent in learning the art of being strategic.

Ravindra Jadeja opines

“Absolutely, Mahi Bhai has played for such a long time for India and Chennai and he has a set pattern that he tries to build a partnership with whichever batsman is playing and once he gets set, he looks to play the big shots,” Jadeja was quoted as saying during a post-match interview with the Sony Sports network.

“So, in my opinion, looking at him batting so many times in such situations and I have played with him as well. He tells me that if we take the match to the end, then a lot of runs can come in the last four to five overs,” he stated.

“So, it was the same situation today and that is what we tried, Hardik and I were talking that we can take a chance in the last five overs as one side was short, so that was the plan,” he added.

During the partnership, Pandya was the one, who started playing the big shots. In the last five overs, Jadeja upped the ante as well. At a stage when a score around the 260-run mark was looking like a difficult task, the duo shouldered the visitors to the massive score.

India went on to win the game by 13 runs at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Though they had already lost the ODI series prior to the match, the victory would be giving them confidence going into the three-match T20I series.