I wanted to get the strike and finish the game off myself: Jadeja

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: November 7, 2009

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Guwahati: For two consecutive games in Mohali and Hyderabad, Ravindra Jadeja’s irresponsible running between the wickets has cost India the match. Chasing 351 in Hyderabad, India needed just 19 runs of 17 balls when Sachin got out for a breathtaking 175 but Ravindra Jadeja’s ill-timed run out turned the match in favour of the Aussies. The disappointed all-rounder said on Friday that he went for the run in his eagerness to retain the strike and finish off the game.

Still dejected by India’s three run defeat in Hyderabad, Jadeja said that he tried to sneak in a quick single in the 48th over because he thought that the ball went in no man’s land and he wanted to get the strike back.

“After Sachin got out, I wanted to finish things off,” Jadeja said. “I wanted to get the strike and thought the ball was going to a no man’s land. Instead, it went straight to the fielder (Cameron White) and I had come a long distance. It was difficult to get back to the crease.”

Incidentally, Jadeja was dismissed run out in a similar fashion in the fourth one-dayer at Mohali, where India lost by 24 runs. “I feel very disappointed. We lost both the matches after getting so near,” said the youngster.

Tendulkar and Jadeja added 32 for seventh wicket at Hyderabad and with the Powerplay on, it seemed a matter of time before India clinched a memorable victory. But after Tendulkar got out scoring a superb 175, India crumbled, with Jadeja following suit in the same over. “We could have made it easily. We were 18 runs away with more than two overs remaining,” Jadeja said.

The defeat notwithstanding, one thing Jadeja said he would cherish forever is watching Tendulkar from the other end on a day that belonged to the Little Master. “It was great to play the partner’s role in that epic innings of Tendulkar. He was very supportive and on every ball he was telling me to play my natural game. He was telling me to take my strokes and building my confidence. It’s sad that we could not see the team through,” Jadeja said.

However, the Saurashtra player, who has earlier drawn a lot of praise from his Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne, was confident that India would win the remaining two one-dayers to clinch the series. “(In the last match) we gave Australia a very close game and we almost won it. If we can get near to 350, it means we can chase any total,” he said confidently.

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