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Ravindra Jadeja wants the Indian batting to put up a better team-like effort at the MCG and not rely on individual brilliance.
Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his half-century at the Gabba. (AP Photo)
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has called for better performances from the Indian top-order in the Boxing Day Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He admitted the lack of big numbers from the batting cream puts added pressure on the lower order, especially on tours of Australia and South Africa where new-ball movement brings most of the wickets.
Apart from KL Rahul, India’s top order failed in the last Test at the Gabba. It needed a valiant half-century from Jadeja — who was playing his first match of the tour — and a hard-fought partnership between the last batting pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep for the visitors to avoid the follow-on. Bad weather meant the Test ended in a draw.
“Top-order runs are very important when you play outside India, especially in Australia and South Africa,” Jadeja said. “When the top order doesn’t score runs, the responsibility and pressure increase on the lower order. Hopefully, the top-order and the middle-order do well in this Test. As a team, we need the top order to perform. If everyone contributes in the batting unit, the team will do well.”
Jadeja didn’t see missing the first two Tests harshly, instead saying that the extra time helped him to get used to the conditions and forge plans for himself, which helped him at the Gabba.
“Not playing the first two Tests gave me the chance and time to practice more,” he said. “I got a nice few days to understand and get used to the conditions. I was here so many days, I used to bowl and bat on the tracks here. I got more familiar with the conditions here. All my handwork in the nets helped me in the match and I played as per my plans.”
The all-rounder also said the team knows it has to win just one of the remaining two Tests to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, adding that his teammates are looking forward to make the opportunity count in Melbourne.
“It’s good that we are 1-1 after three Tests,” Jadeja noted. “The next two games will be very interesting too. If we win even one Test, we’ll retain the trophy because we won the last two series. It’s a good opportunity to make that one good effort. We’ll see what happens in the last match but this is a very important and crucial match for us.”
- Location :
Brisbane, Australia
