Michael Clarke dreads facing Ravindra Jadeja. Of his five dismissals in the series, Jadeja has accounted for four.
The left-arm spinner, looking to develop into an all-rounder, said the Australia skipper was not the only one he looked to snare. “It’s not that I want to get him out only, but luckily when I’m bowling he’s coming to bat and in this series I’ve got him four times. It feels good.
“His wicket is important for the team because if he clicks, they get a big score. So it’s very important to get him out as soon as possible.”
The slow turn in the Mohali pitch was acknowledged by Jadeja, who finished with three wickets on Friday. “On this wicket, there was not so much turn as there was in Hyderabad and Chennai, and today practically is the first day (rain washed out play on Thursday). It was a good wicket for the first day, good for batting too.
“But my plan was to bowl most of the deliveries on the stumps, not to give them room outside off or leg. If there’s turn in the wicket, I try to bowl within the stumps.”
Reflecting on the first session, when Australia made 109 for no loss, Jadeja said: “Our morale wasn’t down because not too many runs had been made in the first session, only 109 in 36 overs. We were hoping that we’d get a wicket or two.“After lunch, I got my first wicket and Clarke got out the next ball. We didn’t want to get hassled and give them too many runs. We wanted to bowl where we’d planned.
“In the first session, we didn’t give too many runs though we didn’t get wickets, but that we covered in the last two sessions.” Jadeja backed India to look for a win. “We’d try to get the three wickets early tomorrow (Saturday) and then bat well and see the situation over the next two days.
