India were traveling in deep waters when the pairing of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja came good at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. At 152 / 5, with a well set Virat Kohli going back to the pavilion, and a ‘bits and pieces’ player taking his place on the crease, almost nobody would have given India a chance of getting 250, let alone 300.
But, the day had something very special reserved for all the fans of Sir Jadeja (and his sword celebration), as well as Hardik Pandya. The two played cautiously at the start and then built upon it to change gears, as and when required. From making just 42 in the first eight overs of their partnership to hitting 76 in the last five, the two showed that the Indian team indeed bats deep.
While Hardik hit his fifty off 56 balls, Jadeja too was slow at the start. But it was a Sean Abbot over that changed things for Jadeja as he took over the mantle of attacking from Pandya in the last three overs, and scored thirty runs in just seven balls to reach his fifty.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Pandya’s innings of 92 from 76 was rather overshadowed by Jadeja’s 66 off 50 balls. However, thanks to these two innings, India have been able to post a competitive total of 302 runs. Although it is less than the average score of 355, with the momentum gained in the latter half of their innings, the Indian team can back itself to defend it.
At the time of writing this news, T Natrajan had already got his first scalp in international cricket, bowling out Marnus Labuschagne. Australia are 44-1 after 8 overs.
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