Ravindra Jadeja reveals MS Dhoni’s role behind his half-century in third ODI vs Australia

Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja attributed former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his incredible fifty, that turned the table in the team’s favour during the third ODI against Australia in Canberra on Wednesday.

Taking the crease first, the men in blue were in trouble at 152/5 and in danger of folding for a lowly total. But Jadeja and Pandya’s attacking partnership for the sixth wicket lifted India to a challenging total of 302. Australia fell 13 short of the target, allowing India to avert a 0-3 sweep and end the series 1-2.

“Mahi bhai has played so much cricket for India and Chennai (CSK). He always had a set pattern. He would go in and look to build a partnership with the batsman. He always used to het himself set and look to play the big shots. He has played in such situations so many times,” Jadeja said after the match.

Having played with MS Dhoni for years for India and Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Jadeja revealed that he tried to follow the pattern set by his former skipper and how it paid off against Australia at the Manuka Oval. Jadeja and Pandya peeled off unbeaten half-centuries, with the latter registering his highest individual score in ODIs.

“By looking at him and given the fact that I have batted with him so many times, he always used to tell me that if we can take it till the last then we can score a lot of runs in the final four-five overs,” Jadeja added.

“It was the same situation and that is what he tried to do today. Hardik and I were discussing that we can take a chance in the last few overs. The boundary was smaller on one side so that was the plan.”

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