Former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja has opened up on India’s performance in the T20I series against New Zealand. The visitors registered a 3-2 series win against the Kiwis after losing the final game at Seddon Park, Hamilton on Sunday by seven wickets.
The tourists came up with impressive performances in the first three matches of the series but they were not able to continue the same momentum in the final two games.
Ajay Jadeja said on Sony Sports, “You can get 100 marks in a board exam. You have the pre-board first. You got 60 in the pre-board itself and 60 in the board as well. It’s not like there was a minus because you lost the last two matches, but the 60 you got in the pre-board, and there was time after that, you didn’t progress from there. You got 60 marks, but missed the remaining 40.”
Jadeja opined that Shivam Dube and Axar Patel were among the team’s losses in the series.
“As a team, you fulfilled your aim, but there is a different aim. I believe the Indian team is never stagnant. It’s a journey. We probably lost two or three players in this series. You left out Shivam Dube before the first match,” Jadeja observed.
“That was a loss, and before leaving you lost Axar Patel, who was the vice-captain some time ago. These two players went out of the XI. What did you gain? You spoke about Naman Dhir. Has he taken Shivam Dube’s place or not?” he added.
Dube didn’t play a single game in the series.
Jadeja said Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi partnership in the third game was the moment of the series. The duo added 133 runs off 43 balls for the opening alliance.
“You won the series, but the celebration looked muted because you lost the match 10 minutes ago. The series victory is definitely the No. 1 highlight, but the moment of the series was Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma’s partnership,” he said.
India will now take on New Zealand in a five-match ODI series.
