ajay jadeja

Ajay Jadeja Sums Up RCB’s Situation With Award-Worthy ‘Ventilator To ICU’ Remark

Danijones6 months ago04 mins

Former India all-rounder Ajay Jadeja believes Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowlers have started to click together to take their side “off the ventilator” but the team still remains “in the ICU” following their nervy win over Gujarat Titans. RCB got over the line with four wickets and 38 balls in hand chasing a paltry 148 against GT on Saturday, a win which was set up by the bowlers. Faf du Plessis (64) and Virat Kohli (42) shared 92 runs inside the powerplay but RCB lost wickets in a heap — slipping from 92/0 to 117/6 — to give Gujarat a real hope of pulling off an unlikely win. “The chinks in the armour are visible, what happened at the end. But the chance is there. They’re off the ventilator but they’re still in the ICU,” Jadeja told Jio Cinema. “We are excited about today’s match after seeing Virat and Faf bat. But the real work that was done, was by the bowlers, an aspect RCB has historically struggled at. “The bowling department has started to click for them now, and we’re talking about the business end of the season, this is the point where realistic chances of winning comes from momentum….” Jadeja said RCB may have got the momentum after their win which took them to the seventh spot in the IPL points table, but qualifying for the playoffs remains a “very tough ask”. “More than momentum, it’s about the mentality of the team where you know if you’re in a bad situation, someone will take you out of it… Today, it seemed like RCB picked the right road while Gujarat was on the other side. Who will reach their goal? It’s a very tough ask still,” he said. The former India cricketer, however, was impressed with RCB’s aggressive approach with the bat in a small chase. “They came into the game differently from the start. I haven’t checked the statistics, but I have never seen them start a game with a six. Not one, but two of them, in the first over, when there was no need,” he said. “What Faf did, he was operating at a different pace. Later, there was some excitement in the match but at no point did it seem like this was (GT win) going to be successful,” (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article

“Virat Kohli Should Open, Rohit Sharma Goes Back”: Ex-India Star On T20 World Cup Combination

Danijones6 months ago03 mins

Ajay Jadeja believes Rohit Sharma should bat at no. 3 and promote Virat Kohli.© BCCI Former all-rounder Ajay Jadeja believes that India skipper Rohit Sharma should push himself to the number three spot and promote Virat Kohli to the opening position during next month’s T20 World Cup in the Americas. India announced their 15 for the marquee tournament earlier this week and will open their campaign against Ireland on June 5. “For me, Virat Kohli opens. Who goes back? Rohit Sharma bats at three. He gets a little cushion and gets to understand the game, he has so much going on, in his mind as a captain,” Jadeja told Jio Cinema. “If you have Virat in your side, you know consistency is the one thing you will get, so, might as well use him. He’s best at the top and the powerplay allows him to settle in,” he added. Jadeja backed the selection of a currently off-colour Hardik Pandya in the squad, describing him as special. “The spotlight is on him for obvious reasons. He’s a special player, a rare commodity you find in our country where somebody bowls seam-up and can make it to the side with his batting,” he said referring to the furore caused by his elevation to Mumbai Indians captaincy replacing Rohit. Pandya, who is enduring a poor run in the IPL, will be Rohit’s deputy during the T20 World Cup. “The selection has not been on form, there’s no doubt about it. It depends on how you want to play. It’s one of the things I look at this team and think they don’t have many options. “You have established players in the side, everybody is so solid with the numbers that they play at, and what stage they play. It will all depend on what Rohit thinks,” Jadeja said. (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Topics mentioned in this article