India vs Australia: Ravindra Jadeja Rightly Faces MS Dhoni's Ire; Lower Order Deserves a Dressing-Down Too

Ravindra Jadeja might not have thrown his wicket like rest of the Indian batsmen did in the great collapse at Canberra's Manuka Oval on Wednesday but worse than that, the Saurashtra all-rounder showed zero enterprise to win the game. And, the less said about the common sense or rather the lack thereof in the lower middle order and the tailenders the better.(Match Report | Scorecard | Highlights)

Jadeja, 27, has now played 125 ODIs for India, and averages 32.43 -- having scored 1,849 runs. A player, who has that much experience and is seen as the top all-rounder in the squad, needs to do better than score 24 off 27 balls when your team is chasing a 349-run target. Skipper MS Dhoni has questioned Jadeja's communication skills following the disappointing 25-run defeat in the fourth ODI.

Yes, there were wickets falling all around him but it's his job to shelter the youngsters in the team and the tailenders, when he is batting with them. He did anything but that - and seemed to be playing to better his average and register a 'not out'. What else will explain the fact that he hit just one four in 27 balls -- that also an outside edge to the third-man boundary.

Jadeja, a poor communicator: Dhoni

"The main batsman has to communicate with the lower order batsmen. Because it's not easy out here, he (Ravindra Jadeja) is among the most experienced among the lower order batsmen so it is not only about your batting, you also have to tell the people who are batting with you as to what the bowler may be doing at that time and what the batsmen should be looking at," Dhoni said in a post-match chat on Wednesday.(Blame me for Loss: Dhoni)

"So a bit more communication will definitely help. I don't think he is someone who really speaks a lot. so that's also to be taken into account," Dhoni added. The skipper himself took blame for the defeat in a game where India were in a winning position, batting second.

Dhoni, however, defended youngsters like Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Rishi Dhawan, saying he hoped "they would learn from the experience".

Gurkeerat Singh's lack of experience showed in his rash display of stroke-play which resulted in his dismissal.

© PTI

Just lack of common sense and application

Let's talk about Gurkeerat! The youngster, who is not so young at age 25, has played 22 first-class games and 49 List A matches. He averages 47.38 in the former and 41.10 in the latter - great stats for a cricketer looking to get into the international scene.(Gavaskar Calls for Tough Decisions)

Mann hit a boundary with a lofted drive off Nathan Lyon in the first ball of the of the 41st over which left India requiring 63 off 59 balls. The very next delivery he went for an ambitious sweep -- this was the sixth ball he had faced in the innings -- and managed only to get a top edge and was sent packing.

And then another newbie Rishi Dhawan -- brought in to replace the number all-rounder in the world, Ravichandran Ashwin -- showed the same lack of common sense.

Having faced just five deliveries and Jadeja at the other end, the so-called all-rounder came down the track to Australian pacer Kane Richardson and flat-batted him over short mid-off for his first four.

The 44th over had already yielded nine runs, but what did Dhawan do two balls later? The Himachal player went for another big shot and holed out at sweeper cover to leave India tottering at 308 for seven.

Where is the common sense? Where is the responsibility? Where is the will to take your team to victory?

Flashy shots at a juncture where India needed a-run-a-ball was not the need of the hour. Mann and Dhawan did just that and Jadeja remained a silent spectator at the other end. Common sense is not something that is taught in international cricket and therefore the excuse of 'being inexperienced' holds no ground here.

Umesh Yadav failed to connect the ball properly as India's asking rate kept rising against Australia.

© AFP

Bhuvneshwar, hardly doing justice to his potential

Then there were the Indian tailenders -- Bhuvneshwar Kumar, an accomplished bat, and Umesh Yadav. A man, who has 14 half-centuries, a century and averages 29.02 in first-class cricket cannot be averaging 9.40 in ODIs. It just goes to show that Bhuvneshwar has the ability to bat but just doesn't want to apply himself.('Dhoni's Wicket Changed the Game')

This is what happened in the fourth ODI as well. Bhuvneshwar came out to give catch practice to the Aussies! He guided - not edged - one to wicket-keeper Mathew Wade, who dropped the catch. Not content, the Indian pacer decided it was the turn of Steven Smith to do some catching practice and the very next over, after being dropped, guided another delivery straight to Smith at slips.

Out came Yadav, he wielded the bat as if he was cutting a tree with an axe. And what followed was a batting masterclass. He swung the bat eight times - trying to deliver the ball to Melbourne - and on all occasions missed the ball completely.

Yadav played 11 balls, scored two runs, was dropped once and swung at the ball eight times -- all this when a certain 'Sir' Jadeja is standing at the other end. No one expects Yadav to hit textbook cover drives and smash India to victory - he is not a batsman. But what is expected of a man who has played 56 ODIs is common sense and the grit to struggle it out, especially with a batsman at the other end.

India lost not because of an inexperienced batting line-up or the fact Dhoni failed to finish the game, again! But they lost because they showed zero common sense, when the match was in the bag.