Sunil Gavaskar impressed by Kedar Jadhav's temperament

Jadhav’s century and partnership with Virat Kohli helped India get out of a sticky situation

What's the story?

Legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar was mightily impressed by the temperament and calmness shown by Kedar Jadhav in the chase of 351 against England last night. Walking in at 62/4, Jadhav took the pressure off Virat Kohli but playing an aggressive innings at his home ground.

Jadhav has been phenomenal for India in ODIs in recent months and showed his value yet again with a 65-ball century under pressure. He was dismissed on 120 off 76 as Hardik Pandya and Ravi Ashwin sealed the chase. 

Gavaskar was very pleased with the way Jadhav took on responsibility when walking in under severe pressure. While there was no questioning his ability to play big shots, boasting of a big strike rate, his temperament to play a big innings was unknown. He put those doubts to rest with a scintillating hundred that earned him the Man of the Match award.

In case you didn't know...

Kedar Jadhav has brought in much-needed stability at no. 6 for India. He has played 13 ODIs and scored two hundreds at an average of 59.33, and a strike rate of 118.67. 

Jadhav was a part-time wicket-keeper but a shortage of bowling options made Dhoni give him a few overs in the New Zealand series and the lower order batsman took 6 wickets in the series.

But it was his batting that stood out in the Pune clash. He was quick to make his intentions clear and this made Kohli more relaxed. In a huge chase, it is vital that two batsmen bat well and Jadhav ensured Kohli had good company. 

The chase was India's third successful chase of 350+ in ODIs, making them the team with most such successful chases.

The heart of the matter

Gavaskar felt that Kohli and Jadhav showed terrific attitude in chasing down a huge score. He was all praise for Jadhav, whose shot-making allowed Kohli to rotate the strike and play freely until he crossed his 80s.

"When the statistics were shown earlier, he was the one with the highest strike rate. Maybe he hasn't played as many matches as the others in the team but his strike rate was 135 or so in comparison to others who had around 90. We all knew he was capable of playing big shots.

“What was in doubt was if he could play a big innings. Because he comes down the order he has been scoring 50s and 60s. Today he showed he can play the big innings as well,” the former Indian opener said speaking to NDTV.

What's next?

With Jadhav setting his place at no. 6 firmly, India have the freedom to use MS Dhoni at no. 4. Gavaskar was against using the former Indian captain as a pinch-hitting opener or a no. 4 instead stating that he felt Dhoni was best suited at 5 or 6. 

With Yuvraj back in the setup and Jadhav showing he can finish an innings, Dhoni can play with more freedom at 5. Jadhav, meanwhile, will be hoping that he has nailed down that no. 6 position, warding off competition from Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey and Mandeep Singh.

Sportskeeda's take

India could continue to use Jadhav at no. 6 as he has shown that he can play a crucial role from that position. He also bats in the lower middle order for his IPL franchise and this should make him a safe bet there.

Dhoni, meanwhile, could be used in a floating role with Yuvraj adding the much-needed experience to that middle order. Jadhav has ensured India have a good, dependable batsman down the order and he should be trusted to play that role.