#RavindraJadeja

IPL-17 | Ravindra Jadeja’s versatility makes him class act, says Aaron Finch

Danijones6 months ago03 mins

Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja celebrates a wicket during the Indian Premier League 2024 match against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on May 5, 2024. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Former Australia skipper Aaron Finch has termed India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a “class player” because of his versatility which brings in a lot of balance in all the teams that he represents. Jadeja scored 40-odd runs and took three wickets in Chennai Super Kings’ victory over Punjab Kings on May 5. “Ravindra Jadeja is such a versatile player, which makes him so effective. With the ball, he would have loved more wickets,” Finch told Star Sports. “He’s been economical, going at under eight per over throughout the tournament. Leading with three wickets today (Sunday), he showed he is an absolute class player.” Finch was impressed that Jadeja returned with fine figures of 3/20 in his full quota of four overs while defending a not-so-big total of 169. “Three wickets for just 20 runs when the Punjab Kings were chasing a total of 170 odd runs is just superb. It just shows why he’s one of the best players in the world,” the Australian said. Finch also spoke highly about Kolkata Knight Riders’ Sunil Narine. The 2021 World T20-winning Australian skipper feels that it is extremely difficult to contain Narine for a long period of time. “It’s truly remarkable, isn’t it? I mean, seeing Sunil Narine stride out to open the batting. “Before this season, you’re thinking, if we can just keep him quiet for a couple of balls, he’ll try and do something and play a big shot. But this season, he’s not only getting off to explosive starts but also batting smartly and seizing control of the innings,” Finch said. The 35-year-old Narine smashed 81 off just 39 balls to power KKR to a comfortable 98-run win over Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday night. In the process, Narine also became the fourth player to score more than 450 runs and take 10 plus wickets in a single IPL edition.

IPL-17: PBKS vs CSK | We were 15-20 runs short but did not bowl any loose balls, says Ravindra Jadeja

Danijones6 months ago05 mins

Chennai Super Kings Ravindra Jadeja plays a shot during the Indian Premier League 2024 against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala on May 5, 2024. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Chennai Super Kings’ all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja admitted that they fell short by 15-20 runs but lauded their disciplined bowling show in securing a convincing 28-run over Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League in Dharamsala on May 5. Defending 167 for nine, the five-time champions restricted Punjab Kings to 139/9 with Jadeja claiming a match-winning 3/20, while Tushar Deshpande (2/35) and impact sub Simarjeet Singh (2/16) also featured among wickets. Mitchell Santner, who was playing his first match of the season, was also brilliant during his tidy 1/10 from three overs. “We thought we were 15-20 runs short but we did not bowl loose balls in the power play and in the middle overs,” Jadeja said at the post-match presentation. “The fast bowlers bowled well in the power play. Tushar got two important wickets and then Mitch and me did the job in the middle overs.” Jadeja struck a crucial 26-ball 43 and the knock came at a time when PBKS were chipping away with regular wickets. Jadeja said it was tricky batting in the middle overs. “It was a day game, so the wicket was slow. As usual, it was expected because it was so hot. “It (the pitch) always seems flat in the power play. But when the ball gets old, it does not always come on. When playing at a new venue, you don’t know how much it will turn or stop. “My role as a batter is to build partnerships and then play the big shots towards the end. Sometimes, when we lose wickets in the power play, we do not get momentum. In the matches we win, we play all phases well,” said Jadeja. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad made a 21-ball 32, while Daryl Mitchell looked in full flow in a 19-ball 30, taking the team to 60/1 in the power play. Everyone believed that the wicket was slow and the ball was coming off slow. There was low bounce too. With the start we got, we could have pushed to 180-200. We lost wickets in consecutive balls and then felt 160-170 was probably ten odd runs short,” said Gaikwad. It’s not too late for Simarjeet: Gaikwad Simarjeet impressed with his pace after he came in as an Impact Player replacing Ajinkya Rahane. “I don’t know what he is doing but in the pre-season we had, he was bowling at around 150s. “We had Deepak (Chahar), Shardul (Thakur), Tushar (Deshpande) plus (Matheesha) Pathirana and Fizz (Mustafizur Rahman), so he did not get too many chances. Nothing is late, he got a game today. “We were thinking of sending an impact batter but we thought the impact batter would score 10-15 runs but the bowler might get us two-three wickets,” Gaikwad said.