Ind vs WI | Happy to repay faith showed by Virat Kohli, exclaims Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja, who was picked ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin for the first Test against Windies, has said that he is pleased that he was able to repay Virat Kohli’s faith with a fighting half-century. Jadeja also revealed that he, along with Ishant Sharma, just wanted to play one over at a time.
Ahead of the first Test against West Indies India decided to pick Ravindra Jadeja as the main spinner in the team in place of Ravichandran Ashwin. The decision drew a lot of criticism from fans and critics alike but with India in trouble, Jadeja stepped up and delivered with the bat to guide India to a respectable total in the first innings.
"Obviously you feel good when the skipper believes in you, thinks of you as the main player. Luckily, I have been able to repay the faith by performing well," Jadeja said, reported PTI.
When Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a brilliant 81, was dismissed with the scoreboard reading 189/6, India appeared to be in trouble and that seemed to pile on Pant making is way back as well with the score at 207. However, Jadeja and Ishant Sharma stitched together a wonderful 60 run stand before the latter was castled by Shannon Gabriel. While India eventually finished with a final score of 297, it was that partnership that ensured India had reached a respectable first innings score.
"When I was batting out there in the middle, I just looked to build a partnership. I was focussing to play with the tailenders. I was just worried about my game, I was trying to give my best out on the park," Jadeja explained.
"I just looked to build a partnership. I was constantly talking to Ishant, and we talked about staying out in the middle for as long as possible. We were thinking about one over at a time.
"I am just very positive in my mind, my shot selection is positive. When Rishabh got out, I was talking to Ishant about staying out in the middle and building a partnership. It is not good for opponents if the lower order is constantly scoring runs, so it was the gameplan from our side."