Former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja believes the Rohit Sharma-led will be extremely disappointed with themselves after their five-run loss against Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Dhaka on Wednesday.
Bangladesh has taken an impregnable lead of 2-0 in the series. Meanwhile, India hasn’t been able to come up with a collective effort with either bat or the ball in the first two matches. India also recently lost the ODI series against New Zealand by 1-0.
In fact, the team had their noses in front as they had Bangladesh under pressure at 69-6 after 19 overs. However, the visitors could not cash in on the advantage and the home team went on to post 271 runs on the board after fine knocks from Mahmudullah (77) and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (100).
On the other hand, India’s batting was also not up to the mark as the top order failed to provide a good start. Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan were both dismissed cheaply for five and eight runs respectively.
When asked if India didn’t have the rub of the green on their side because of injury woes, Ajay Jadeja said on Sony Sports network, “I am with you but I will also say that you need good times if one team is weaker than the other. You are so superior that even despite the bad times, you are close, so the slight misses are the problem. The Indian team might be extremely disappointed with themselves.”
“If you see the ability and quality of this team, whether it is batting or bowling, they don’t lack anywhere. You come in a winning situation in every match despite not playing well. The last match you had almost won, that was rare, but they will probably be more disappointed today. The first time you don’t know and your leg goes into the ditch.”
Jadeja feels the team is playing badly and it is not bad times. The former cricketer believes India let Bangladesh off the hook after reducing them to 69-6 after 19 overs.
“They didn’t play well, I wouldn’t say bad times. It might have gone close in numbers but it only became close in the end. You allowed that total to be scored after reducing them to 69/6, so you didn’t play well there, there is no doubt about that.”
“Then when you got to bat, you were in trouble. From there you had such a good partnership and you were only responsible for that partnership being broken. In the end, it seems that it is bad times. It is not bad times, we are playing badly.”
The third ODI will be played on Saturday between these two teams.