"When You Are 3 Down": Ravindra Jadeja On Team India's Early Trouble vs Australia In World Cup Match

Team India began their Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign on a winning note as they registered a victory by six wickets over Australia on Sunday in Chennai. Opting to bat first, Australia had their worst nightmare as their batting line-up could not stand against India's strong spin attack. The visitors were bundled out for 199 with Ravindra Jadeja scalping three wickets. Later, the Rohit Sharma-led side chased down the target in 41.2 overs with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul playing the crucial knocks for the team.

However, Team India also had a major hiccup during the chase as they were three down with only two runs on the board. But Kohli and Rahul smashed 85 and 97* runs respectively and guided India to victory. When asked about the team's atmosphere after losing three quick wickets, all-rounder Jadeja stated that there was a little panic in the Indian camp but they had faith in Kohli and Rahul. 

"Obviously, when you are three wickets down in just a couple of overs, you panic a little bit. But, we knew that we have Virat and Rahul and they have been this for the team, for a long time now. So, nobody was too much hyper or panicky at that time. Luckily, they played brilliantly and they know the conditions really well," said Jadeja during the post-match press conference.

Jadeja, who scalped three wickets against Australia, said that the pitch at Chepauk felt like a "Test wicket" to him and he tried bowling stump to stump. 

"When I started the first over, the ball was stopping after falling a little slow. I thought it was the afternoon, it was hot and the wicket was dry. I thought a stump-line would be better. From here some balls would turn, some would go straight so it won't be easy for the batsman to line up," said Jadeja.

"This was my plan that I should bowl at the stumps and luckily the ball to Smith turned a little more. So, my plan was simple I was thinking that this is a Test match bowling wicket. I shouldn't experiment too much because everything was happening in the wicket. So, I was trying to bowl it stump to stump," he added.

Team India will now be going up against Afghanistan in their next ODI World Cup 2023 match on Wednesday in Delhi. 

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Ravindra Jadeja Virat Kohli KL Rahul World Cup 2023 Cricket