4 biggest positives for Team India from the ODI series
India's tour of Australia finally came to its end at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with India winning the ODI series by 2-1. This has to be the most successful tour of Australia by any Indian Cricket Team so far.
India defeated the hosts in the 4-match test series by 2-1 and now by defeating them in the ODI series, they have dominated the Aussies in their own backyard. India should have won the T20 series also but rain played the spoilsport. Otherwise, it could have been a clean triple sweep of series.
The ODI series versus Australia was a perfect chance for Team India to get their combinations right and allow some players to get back their form. In this series, there were some big positives for Team India which have definitely lessened several headaches for the team management. Let's take a look at some of them.
#4 Kedar Jadhav back with a bang
Before the ODI series started it seemed unlikely that Kedar Jadhav would get a chance to play in the playing eleven for Team India. But thanks to the controversy surrounding Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder spot in the team is up for grabs again.
Kedar Jadhav didn't play in the first two matches of the series as India was playing Ravindra Jadeja as the all-rounder and Ambati Rayudu as the no.4 batsman. However, since Rayudu failed to make an impact in the first two matches, Jadhav finally got his chance to play in the final ODI match at the MCG.
Kedar Jadhav, who hasn't played much international cricket outside of Asia was in the spotlight immediately in his comeback match. Chasing just 231, India were in all sorts of trouble after losing the wicket of Virat Kohli. But Jadhav played brilliantly along with MS Dhoni and had a great partnership of 121 runs and took India home.
The most notable thing about Jadhav on his comeback was his fitness. His running between the wickets was superb given the fact that he has a history of hamstring injuries. Jadhav finding his form again is great news for Team India as he can perfectly fill in the all-rounder's spot in the team.