If I want to overcome odds, I can do anything Jadhav

If I want to overcome odds, I can do anything: Jadhav

Before October 2016, Kedar Jadhav's international career was only about playing Zimbabwe, when the top players were rested. In fact, coming into the One-Day International series against England, Jadhav had made more noise with his bowling exploits, taking six wickets in the series against New Zealand.

Having served as a fringe player for long, the 31-year-old batsman gave ample evidence of his class with a fine match-winning century against England in Pune. The fact that the knock came in front of the home crowd and his family only made the innings more special.

What stood out about his 76-ball 120 innings against England was the way he hit length deliveries on the up and straight down the ground. Explaining the shot, he said, "As a kid, I used to play a lot of tennis ball cricket. There used to be a tournament where fours and sixes were only the straight scoring options, there always used to be bounce on the side. So that's how I got into this habit that even if the ball is low and there's some bounce and if you've clear 30 yards, it could be possible to play the shots, especially with the tennis ball.

"So the flow with which I was playing on Sunday, I thought if there isn't much bounce and there is a bit of elevation, I can hit out. And the asking rate demanded at least one four every over."

He believes he was aided by the fact that Kohli was partnering him in the middle, allowing the opposition to shift their focus on the Indian skipper.

"Whenever you bat with Virat, it helps you, because the bowlers' focus would be on him. (The bowler would be thinking of) How to get him out, how to control him, so that's an advantage. If you are batting with him, you sometimes get loose balls and more opportunities to score. The bowlers are not able to put a lot of pressure on you, so that helps a lot."

Even as he found it tough to keep pace and stamina while spending time in the middle with Kohli, he ensured that he scored boundaries at regular intervals to stay at par with the required rate and then bring it down. His inability to run quickly between the 22 yards had irked Kohli even during the New Zealand series, but the Maharashtra batsman says that he is looking to improve on his fitness and running.

One of the things that stands out about Jadhav is his self-confidence, often bordering on over-confidence - a trait he believes is in-born. Thus, when he walked out to bat at 63 for 4 in the first ODI, chasing 351 for win, Jadhav was undeterred by the massive task at hand.

"I have had this attitude since childhood that whatever I do, I do it from the bottom of my heart and I prepare well," Jadhav said. "On the field, the only intent is to make your team win, which is the right thinking in every situation. I feel everything falls into place when you are thinking right and that was another day when I was going in a proper direction. Obviously I was working hard going into the series and I am happy to have succeeded in the last game.

"There are a lot of experiences that have contributed to my rising self-belief," he added. "One such incident was in Australia two years ago. I was touring for India A and started feeling pain in the hand. I continued to play despite the pain and returned after 20 days and got a scan done. It revealed that I had a fracture (in the wrist). I realised that if I could perform well in Australia for India despite carrying a fracture, I can bear any pain. If I want to overcome any odds, I know I can do anything. That's how I always think and since I keep achieving it most of the times, my belief in my abilities continues to grow."

Along with Kohli, he compiled 200 runs for the fifth wicket, and followed it up with a brisk 28-run partnership with Hardik Pandya to set the chase up for India.

"Since we were four down, England were looking to attack, it was good that many fielders were in catching positions than saving boundaries. The wicket was good for batting, so I had a lot of gaps to score boundaries. My natural game is to try and dominate the opposition; whenever I bat, I look to take on the bowlers. So I was just playing in that flow, and the fact that we had to chase 350, irrespective of the situation, we had to maintain the tempo throughout."

His innings helped India register a three-wicket win and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. A century got added to his international numbers, and his ODI average has beefed up to 59.33 at a strike-rate of 118.66. The congratulatory calls, not surprisingly, have continued to pour in.

"Have been getting lots of (congratulatory) calls but I have turned the phone into silent mode to keep my focus on the series," he said. "Some of them might feel that 'bada player ho gaya hai toh ab aisa hai (now that he has become a big player, he is acting pricy). But I have always wanted to be grounded.

"In these things, my family and my friends help. They know what I am comfortable with. I don't really like to talk much about what has happened, so I try to stay in present and that is what I look to do," he concluded.