ICC World Cup 2019 | Waiting for your turn to perform is the toughest part, says Kedar Jadhav

ICC World Cup 2019 | Waiting for your turn to perform is the toughest part, says Kedar Jadhav

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Although he has been a part of the Indian team for four years playing 63 ODIs, Kedar Jadhav has barely received any consistent opportunities to bat long and prove his worth. Despite being an experienced customer, he admitted that the wait was the toughest part of playing the game of cricket.

Walking into bat after the loss of skipper Virat Kohli with the team struggling at 135/4 in the 31st over, Kedar Jadhav was finally presented with the opportunity to prove himself on the World Cup stage. On a slow, turning wicket on which Virat and Mohammed Nabi of Afghanistan were the only two to flourish, Jadhav ground out a fighting 68-ball 52 to drag India past the 220-run mark. In the end, the innings proved to be of immense value. 

"The wicket was slow and they were playing with three, almost four spinners, and the ball was little turning also when we were playing. So it was difficult to play shots," Jadhav was quoted as saying by TOI.

However, he admits that India fell short off their target by around 20-30 runs but credits the bowlers and the entire fielding unit for making up for a largely ordinary batting performance.

“Our plan was to look for around 250 or 260 but we fell short by 20, 30 runs. So going into fielding, we knew that we had to make up for those runs in the field. But credit to the bowlers that they defended this small total," Jadhav said.

After years of success in the domestic circuit, Kedar Jadhav got a late call-up to the Indian squad. But, even though he has been a regular member of the side, with 63 ODI caps under his belt, the 34-year-old has faced an average of only 19.3 balls per game. This gives us a context of the challenge that lies ahead of the Indian middle order batsmen when they walk in to bat with plenty of overs to spare. 

"The most difficult part is to wait for your turn. And it's like you hardly get to bat so many deliveries once in a tournament. Our top order has been very good since the last four years. So, it's very less time we get to spend in the middle,” Jadhav said.

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