Ravindra Jadeja not concerned with loss to New Zealand in India’s opening warm-up match
- New Zealand won by six wickets at The Oval
- India play Bangladesh in their second warm-up game in Cardiff on Tuesday
Ravindra Jadeja insists India have no reason to be worried despite suffering defeat to New Zealand in their opening warm-up match at The Oval.
India are one of the favourites to win the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup but were bowled out for 179 by a New Zealand side, spearheaded by four wickets for swing bowler Trent Boult.
Kane Williamson’s side duly knocked off the 180-run target with six wickets and almost 13 overs to spare, the captain and Ross Taylor both striking half-centuries.
It marked a disappointing opening for Virat Kohli’s side but with one further warm-up match to come against Bangladesh on Tuesday, there is little cause for concern for Jadeja – India’s top scorer with the bat.
“Whenever you play in England, it’s always difficult,” said the 30-year-old. “You have low bounce in India, then you come here and the wicket can have a little bit in it.
“We still have a little bit of time to work on it, we don’t have to worry, just keep playing our good cricket.
“We focused on momentum, if we get that then we play according to the situation. Batting in England can be tough, as a batting unit we’ll have more focus on our skills.
“It will come, everyone has a lot of experience so we’re happy.
“This is our first game, there isn’t anything to worry about as a batting unit, we have a lot of experience and it’s just one game, you can’t really judge it for one bad innings.”
The damage was done early after India elected to bat, with Kohli the fourth man to fall with just 10.3 overs on the board as Boult and Colin de Grandhomme struck early.
From 39-4 India needed to rebuild and they did so through Jadeja, striking six fours and two sixes in his 50-ball 54 as conditions eased into the middle overs in London.
Hardik Pandya also hung around for 30 but three wickets for Jimmy Neesham restricted India to 179, a total which New Zealand chased down for the loss of four wickets within 38 overs.
But Jadeja was among those happy with the outing, with work in the nets paying off as he looks to keep up his secondary function alongside spin bowling.
“I was batting and working on things during the Indian Premier League, whenever I get the opportunity between the matches, I work on my basic technique and shot selection,” he added.
“Conditions were tough, particularly for English conditions, you expect there to be something for 15-20 overs, but it was getting better and better.
“We hope that we get a different wicket in matches, with not as much grass on there for our batting.”