Gautam Gambhir reckons that Ravindra Jadeja can be a handy No.5 batsman in limited-overs

Gautam Gambhir reckons that Ravindra Jadeja can be a very handy number five batsman for Team India. Gambhir had made this statement after he had scored a quickfire unbeaten 23-ball 44 towards the backend of the Indian innings and helped the visitors post a total in excess of 160 which had looked highly unlikely at one point in time. The elegant cricketer had come out to bat at number seven in the first T20I against Australia at the Manuka Oval, Canberra.

'Use his form': Gautam Gambhir

“I would probably want him to bat at number five because then you can have KL Rahul bat at number four, Virat Kohli at number three, and then Jadeja at five, Pandya at six, and you can have another all-rounder at number seven. Use his form. My point has always been very simple. If you make someone bat at number seven, he will bat like a number seven. If you make him bat like a number four or five, he will bat like it and that is how it has always been with everyone,” said Gambhir while speaking to  ESPN Cricinfo.

Jadeja's stellar yet impactful cameo

Jaddu had played a great knock under pressure when it seemed that India would be restricted to a manageable total after being put in to bat by Australian skipper Aaron Finch. However, Ravi Jadeja had other ideas as he took the bowlers to the cleaners with a few delightful strokes. His unbeaten knock consisted of five boundaries and a maximum as the Virat Kohli-led side finished their innings at 161/7 from their 50 overs.

Unfortunately, Jadeja was injured as a result of which he could not take the field in the second innings. The Saurashtra all-rounder not only suffered a hamstring injury but was also hit on the helmet after he had missed a bouncer from Mitchell Starc in the final over of the innings. The stylish middle-order batsman was seen limping in the final over as well.

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Australia falter in the run chase

In reply, the hosts got off to a flying start as Finch and D'Arcy Short added 56 runs for the opening stand before the former departed. The Aussies then lost wickets at regular intervals as Smith and Glenn Maxwell were dismissed early. Short (34) and all-rounder Moises Henriques (30) tried their level best to keep Australia in the hunt, but once they fell, the tail-enders could not offer much resistance as they were eventually restricted to 150/7 as Kohli & Co. registered a 11-run win to draw first blood in the three-match series.

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