July 14 will go down as one of Indian cricket’s darkest days, but not without a silver lining to it. The Justice Lodha Committee’s historic verdict deservedly drove a killer blow to the unchecked world of cricket’s richest league, the Indian Premier League. But miles away, insulated from the chaos ensuing back home, two batsmen who first came into the limelight through the now-tainted league spearheaded India’s ODI win over Zimbabwe at Harare.
A 144-run fifth-wicket stand between centurion Kedhar Jadhav, who made his name via a swashbuckling 29-ball 50 on his IPL debut in 2010, and Manish Pandey, who scored the first IPL ton by an Indian, in 2009, rescued India from another batting failure. This gifted Ajinkya Rahane a 3-0 clean-sweep series win on captaincy debut.
One more batting failure
Jadhav joined debutant Pandey at the crease when India were once again struggling at 82/4 and in dire need of a lengthy partnership. Adversity always offers an opportunity, and one that couldn’t have come at a better time for Jadhav. Scores of 5 and 16 in the previous two matches meant the final ODI would likely have been his last ever chance to stake his claim for the first team.
At the age of 30, time is against the Pune-born batsman who made his international debut last year but did not last in the team beyond one match. Jadhav had consolidated his IPL fame with consistency in the domestic circuit, including a near-flawless 2013/14 Ranji Trophy season for Maharashtra which saw him top the run-scoring charts with 1223 runs including six centuries.
The highlights of that particular season was a career-defining fourth-innings ton to shock Mumbai in the quarter-final and another in a losing final against Karnataka. The season before, he had also blitzed his way to a majestic triple ton at over a run-a-ball against Uttar Pradesh. He was touted to be a player in the Virender Sehwag mould of batsmen: Carefree and fearless in his stroke-making.
A mature partnership
Those traits were finally on display in Indian colours. Across 25-and-odd overs in Harare, Jadhav initially curbed his natural attacking instincts, rode his luck (Elton Chigumbura dropped a sitter when he was on 41), showed immense maturity and paced his innings to near perfection. So did Pandey but he holed out in trying to launch a late-innings attack. The pair acknowledged that the dry pitch suited Zimbabwe’s second line of slow-medium bowlers Hamilton Masakadza and Prosper Utseya, allowing them to bowl a combined spell of 20-0-72-2 but ensuring that no more wickets were lost.
They also complemented each other well. Jadhav’s classy cuts and dabs meant he scored his highest percentage of runs behind the wicket on the offside, while Pandey’s favourite area was through mid-wicket. It proved to be a nightmare for bowlers trying to stick to a particular length and line. Partnership of 50 was achieved in 74 balls, 100 in 121 and it eventually ended on 144 in 151 – at nearly a run-a-ball.
Jadhav consumed 64 balls for his first 50 runs, but his next 50 took only 22 balls. The first half of Jadhav’s innings was a batsman playing for his career. The second half was a batsman playing in his element. With wickets in hand, settled batsmen at the crease and a bit of Stuart Binny’s power-hitting; India managed to score 106 in the last 10. They doubled their score after 35 overs to reach a series-high total of 276.
Uthappa takes another step backward
In the absence of an injured Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa was promoted to number three but accompanied Manoj Tiwary in conjuring up his third successive batting failure. Uthappa is now under immense pressure for his place in the team (at least as a wicketkeeper if not as a batsman) since Sanju Samson has joined the touring squad to replace Rayudu.
Murali Vijay did not manage to follow up on his 72 with another significant score, while Rahane scored runs in tough conditions throughout the series without being at his free-flowing best.
Revival is a thing
Disappointments with the bat at least tested India’s revival instincts throughout the series. A stand of 100-plus in each of the three ODIs showed character. Encouragingly, six different batsmen were involved in these three 100-run stands: Rayudu and Binny in the first ODI, Vijay and Rahane in the second and Jadhav and Pandey in the third.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, unfortunate to be wicketless on Tuesday, once again led from the front in stifling Zimbabwe’s openers. A controlled spell of 6-1-12-0 confirmed his return to form. Binny’s 3/55 meant he ended the series as an established all-rounder: Highest wicket-taker (six wickets) and third-highest run-getter (120 runs at an average of 60).
Rayudu, though missing from the last match, topped the scoring charts and appears to have further cemented his first-team spot. Performances of these three men were the standout positives for India.
There were other lesser positives too: Akshar Patel’s performances promise a bright future for him; Harbhajan Singh showed glimpses of his old self; Jadhav stepped up to the plate when required; and Pandey too made a fabulous debut.
Sandeep Sharma, the scourge of many an opener in the IPL, would’ve expected to play at least one ODI. He will certain play in the two T20s to follow later this week and could form an important part of the roster for the 2016 World T20 tournament.
For now though, India have moved on from their Bangladesh debacle. A clean sweep in testing conditions has proven to be a perfect boost and has thrown up both questions and answers regarding the team’s future limited-overs setup.
A 144-run fifth-wicket stand between centurion Kedhar Jadhav, who made his name via a swashbuckling 29-ball 50 on his IPL debut in 2010, and Manish Pandey, who scored the first IPL ton by an Indian, in 2009, rescued India from another batting failure. This gifted Ajinkya Rahane a 3-0 clean-sweep series win on captaincy debut.
One more batting failure
Jadhav joined debutant Pandey at the crease when India were once again struggling at 82/4 and in dire need of a lengthy partnership. Adversity always offers an opportunity, and one that couldn’t have come at a better time for Jadhav. Scores of 5 and 16 in the previous two matches meant the final ODI would likely have been his last ever chance to stake his claim for the first team.
At the age of 30, time is against the Pune-born batsman who made his international debut last year but did not last in the team beyond one match. Jadhav had consolidated his IPL fame with consistency in the domestic circuit, including a near-flawless 2013/14 Ranji Trophy season for Maharashtra which saw him top the run-scoring charts with 1223 runs including six centuries.
The highlights of that particular season was a career-defining fourth-innings ton to shock Mumbai in the quarter-final and another in a losing final against Karnataka. The season before, he had also blitzed his way to a majestic triple ton at over a run-a-ball against Uttar Pradesh. He was touted to be a player in the Virender Sehwag mould of batsmen: Carefree and fearless in his stroke-making.
A mature partnership
Those traits were finally on display in Indian colours. Across 25-and-odd overs in Harare, Jadhav initially curbed his natural attacking instincts, rode his luck (Elton Chigumbura dropped a sitter when he was on 41), showed immense maturity and paced his innings to near perfection. So did Pandey but he holed out in trying to launch a late-innings attack. The pair acknowledged that the dry pitch suited Zimbabwe’s second line of slow-medium bowlers Hamilton Masakadza and Prosper Utseya, allowing them to bowl a combined spell of 20-0-72-2 but ensuring that no more wickets were lost.
They also complemented each other well. Jadhav’s classy cuts and dabs meant he scored his highest percentage of runs behind the wicket on the offside, while Pandey’s favourite area was through mid-wicket. It proved to be a nightmare for bowlers trying to stick to a particular length and line. Partnership of 50 was achieved in 74 balls, 100 in 121 and it eventually ended on 144 in 151 – at nearly a run-a-ball.
Jadhav consumed 64 balls for his first 50 runs, but his next 50 took only 22 balls. The first half of Jadhav’s innings was a batsman playing for his career. The second half was a batsman playing in his element. With wickets in hand, settled batsmen at the crease and a bit of Stuart Binny’s power-hitting; India managed to score 106 in the last 10. They doubled their score after 35 overs to reach a series-high total of 276.
Uthappa takes another step backward
In the absence of an injured Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa was promoted to number three but accompanied Manoj Tiwary in conjuring up his third successive batting failure. Uthappa is now under immense pressure for his place in the team (at least as a wicketkeeper if not as a batsman) since Sanju Samson has joined the touring squad to replace Rayudu.
Murali Vijay did not manage to follow up on his 72 with another significant score, while Rahane scored runs in tough conditions throughout the series without being at his free-flowing best.
Revival is a thing
Disappointments with the bat at least tested India’s revival instincts throughout the series. A stand of 100-plus in each of the three ODIs showed character. Encouragingly, six different batsmen were involved in these three 100-run stands: Rayudu and Binny in the first ODI, Vijay and Rahane in the second and Jadhav and Pandey in the third.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, unfortunate to be wicketless on Tuesday, once again led from the front in stifling Zimbabwe’s openers. A controlled spell of 6-1-12-0 confirmed his return to form. Binny’s 3/55 meant he ended the series as an established all-rounder: Highest wicket-taker (six wickets) and third-highest run-getter (120 runs at an average of 60).
Rayudu, though missing from the last match, topped the scoring charts and appears to have further cemented his first-team spot. Performances of these three men were the standout positives for India.
There were other lesser positives too: Akshar Patel’s performances promise a bright future for him; Harbhajan Singh showed glimpses of his old self; Jadhav stepped up to the plate when required; and Pandey too made a fabulous debut.
Sandeep Sharma, the scourge of many an opener in the IPL, would’ve expected to play at least one ODI. He will certain play in the two T20s to follow later this week and could form an important part of the roster for the 2016 World T20 tournament.
For now though, India have moved on from their Bangladesh debacle. A clean sweep in testing conditions has proven to be a perfect boost and has thrown up both questions and answers regarding the team’s future limited-overs setup.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!