Hyderabad: Kedar Jadhav, who scored a match-winning 81 to help India take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series against Australia, said he has been assigned the finisher’s role at No 6 since the 2017 ODI series against England. His 87-ball knock, that was part of an unbeaten 141-run partnership for the fifth wicket with MS Dhoni, reflects the progress Jadhav has had ever since becoming Man of the Series in the ODI rubber against England.

“It’s been more than two years I have been batting at this number --- No 5 or 6. I still remember against England in India in 2017 January, I batted six only. From thereon, the management was looking at me as a finisher and they have clearly told me that you would be batting at No 6 till the time you are there. The management and team are clear about everybody’s role,” said Jadhav who credits Dhoni for his improvement despite a stop-start career because of injury.

“Every time I bat with him, spend time with him, I learn a lot. Every time I see Mahi bhai, I feel confident. That’s the sort of person he is. His aura is such that you just see him and tell yourself ‘I will deliver today’. He has the knack of getting the best out of every player,” said Jadhav who had joined Dhoni when India were looking in trouble chasing 236 here on Saturday.

“Every victory adds to your confidence, the team’s confidence. It tells how the team is progressing. We as a team have always believed in the process more than the result and as long as you take care of that process, you are bound to get results,” said Jadhav.

Nathan Coulter-Nile, the only Australia pacer to take wickets, said the match could have been different had they scored a bit more. “It was a close game. Maybe 20-30 runs short with the bat, couple of half-chances we didn’t take. We bowled pretty well. It was a tough wicket though,” he said. “Just a couple of things didn’t go our way. Credit to them as they batted very well.”

First Published: Mar 03, 2019 10:29 IST