Dhoni: Jadeja will learn from mistakes

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has backed all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, saying he would learn from his mistakes.

The dismissal of Jadeja, who was chasing a non-existent single at a crucial moment in the fifth match in Hyderabad, dashed India's hopes as the home team lost by three runs to Australia on Thursday.

Incidentally, Jadeja was also dismissed in a similar fashion in the fourth one-dayer at Mohali, where the hosts suffered a 24-run defeat on November 2.

"He (Jadeja) has been bowling well in the series and with more and more matches, we will see him more as a batsman.

"Jadeja is learning from his mistakes," Dhoni said after the team's training session at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati.

Jadeja, who has bagged six wickets in the seven-match series so far, also received some special attention from coach Gary Kirsten as the South African spent more than half-an-hour with the Saurashtra all-rounder explaining batting techniques.

Special attention was also given to Amit Mishra with Sachin Tendulkar advising the leg-spinner personally on a day when dashing opener Virender Sehwag opted out of the practice session.

On a seemingly bowling-wicket at Nehru Stadium on Sunday, Mishra is likely to replace paceman Munaf Patel, who had conceded 73 runs from nine overs without any success in Hyderabad.

"It has always been the case, I don't announce the playing XI," Dhoni, however, said.
There were also some big hits from Harbhajan Singh who batted close to 15 minutes during the net session with Praveen Kumar, Mishra, Tendulkar and Sudeep Tyagi giving him practice, while the regular batsmen preferred to take rest.

"There was no particular reason behind this. We wanted to give the guys some rest and the lower order batted," Dhoni said.

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Jadeja: Was too keen to finish it off

Ravindra Jadeja's ill-timed run-out dashed India's hopes in the Hyderabad humdinger against Australia.

And the dejected all-rounder said he pursued the non-existent single in his eagerness to retain strike.

Still rankled by India's three-run defeat in the see-saw encounter, Jadeja said he tried to sneak a single off the 48th over sent down by Clint McKay because he wanted to complete the chase himself and not leaving it to partner Praveen Kumar.

"After Sachin got out, I wanted to finish things off," Jadeja said.

"I wanted to get the strike and thought the ball was going to a no man's land. Instead, it went straight to the fielder (Cameron White) and I had come a long distance. It was difficult to get back to the crease," Jadeja lamented.

Incidentally, Jadeja was dismissed in a similar fashion in the fourth one-dayer in Mohali, where India lost by 24 runs.

"I feel very disappointed. We lost both the matches after getting so near," said the youngster.

With Sachin Tendulkar and Jadeja going great guns in Hyderabad, at one point it seemed India would reach the 351 target with ease.

Tendulkar and Jadeja added 32 for seventh wicket and with the powerplay on, it seemed a matter of Tendulkar's staying there till the end.

But after Tendulkar got out scoring a memorable 175, India crumbled with Jadeja following suit in the same over.

"We could have made it easily. We were 18 runs away with more than two overs remaining," Jadeja said.

The defeat notwithstanding, one thing Jadeja would cherish forever is watching Tendulkar from the other end on a day that belonged to the Little Master.

"It was great to play the partner's role in that epic innings of Tendulkar. He was very supportive and on every ball he was telling me to play my natural game. He was telling me to take my strokes. It's sad that we could not see the team through," Jadeja said.

However, the Saurashtra player, who drew rich praise from his Rajasthan Royals skipper Shane Warne, was confident that India would win the remaining two one-dayers to clinch the series.

"(In the last match) we gave Australia a very close game and we almost won it. If we can get near to 350, it means we can chase any total.

"In the previous one dayer (in Mohali) also, we missed narrowly. We just have to be careful towards the end and we will win the series," Jadeja said.

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