India and Australia faced each other in the first match of the ongoing ODI series at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. The low-scoring contest saw the hosts clinching a five-wicket win courtesy of KL Rahul’s splendid half-century.
During the game, star India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja showcased his fielding skills as he plucked an absolute blinder to get rid of Marnus Labuschagne. It all happened during the 23rd over of the Aussie inning, bowled by spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
The left-arm tweaker bowled a good-length delivery outside the off-stump, and Labuschagne looked to cut it in the square region. However, the batter could not time the ball perfectly, and Jadeja, who was positioned at short third man, dived full length to his right and grabbed a jaw-dropping catch to send Labuschagne back into the pavilion.
Here is the video:
Ravindra Jadeja’s Nuts #RavindraJadeja #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/uPiO72jxuj
— Maulik Patel (@maulik1127) March 17, 2023
Not just with his sensational fielding display, Jadeja was also impressive with his batting as he, along with Rahul, drove India top in a jittery run chase. Notably, despite chasing the paltry target of 189, the hosts were in a spot of bother after losing five wickets for just 83 in 19.2 overs.
From thereon, Rahul and Jadeja bailed out India and formed a match-winning unbeaten partnership of 108 runs for the sixth wicket as the Hardik Pandya-led side finished off the proceedings in the 40th over with five wickets in hand.
While Rahul stayed unbeaten on 75 from 91 deliveries, with the help of 7 fours and a six, Jadeja remained undefeated at 45 off 69 balls, including five boundaries.
Earlier, Mohammed Shami and Mohammad Siraj exhibited outstanding bowling performances, picking up three wickets each to help India bundled out the touring party for 188 in 35.4 overs. Shami bagged three wickets for 17 runs in 6 overs, and Siraj picked up three scalps for 29 runs in 5.4 overs.
