Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni put on 141 runs together for the fifth wicket
Kedar Jadhav played a crucial role as India chased down 237 to win the first ODI in Hyderabad and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match ODI series against Australia.
Jadhav along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck an unbeaten stand of 141 runs for the fifth wicket as India won the match with 10 balls to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Saturday.
While the 33-year-old remained not out on 81, Dhoni played a calm and composed knock of 59 not out off 72 balls as India cruised to victory.
Speaking about the mindset and how he went about his innings after coming in a tricky situation, Jadhav said: "I tried to learn a lot from him (MS). MS and Cheeku [Kohli] are the best chasers in the game, I feel. The intensity has to be there all the time. That's what we learn from the captain and that's what we tried to do.
"I would have tried to play more shots early had Dhoni bhai not been there. That's what he does, he tells you exactly. He reads your mind; plenty of times when you feel this ball can be hit for boundaries, he'll tell you 'I can see that but the team needs more solidity and you have to bat till the end'."
"Every time you think of the team, most of the times, you'll cross the line and end up on the winning side," the man-of-the-match added.
Also a handful with the ball, Jadhav got all important wicket of Marcus Stoinis to break a dangerous stand and ultimately finished with figures of 1/31 from his seven overs. And, what asked about what makes him so difficult to score of, he said: "My bowling is all about reading batsmen's mind. I have two or three options with the angle. I tried to bowl stump-to-stump. Best part about my bowling is, I don't think like I'm a bowler, there's no extra responsibility."
"I enjoy my bowling. Recently in Australia, we pulled off a similar kind of a chase. I had that in the back of my mind. When you have Mahi bhai at the other end, you just have to listen to him. I just did that again today," Jadhav added.
India will next play Australia in the second ODI at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday
