Birmingham: Team India captain Virat Kohli hailed middle-order batsman-cum-spinner Kedar Jadhav for his performance with the ball in the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal against Bangladesh, at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, in Birmingham, on Thursday.
India may have run away with a comfortable 9-wicket victory against Bangladesh, but they found themselves in a spot of bother in the first innings of the match, when Bangladesh batters Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim put up a 123-run partnership for the third wicket.
However, it was Jadhav, who came in with a brilliant spell, in which he removed both Tamim and Mushfiqur, to swing the momentum India’s way; Jadhav ended with figures of 2-22 from six overs.
"He (Jadhav) bowled really well, credit to him. He doesn't bowl much in the nets, but he's a smart cricketer,” said Kohli after the match. "He knows where the batsmen get into trouble, and if you can think like a batter when you're bowling, it's obviously a bit of an advantage to any bowler."
Looking back at the crucial stage in the game, when Jadhav came in to dismiss Tamim and Mushfiqur, star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan said that had it not been for Jadhav’s heroics, Bangladesh may well have posted a challenging total of 300 or more.
"I thought we were in a very good situation to score 300-320, that would have been a different game," said Shakib. "Losing those two wickets to an occasional bowler obviously didn't help.
"With our runs and that wicket, we knew it was very hard for our bowlers, but still I think we were nowhere near our best today, especially in our bowling and fielding," he concluded.
