Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings’ all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja left both his opponents and fans stunned on Sunday, when he smashed a match-winning 62 not out off 28 balls in the final over of the innings to take his side’s score to 191/4 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday.
Skipper MS Dhoni was all praised for Jadeja’s all-round show. Jadeja, who single-handedly powered his side, showcased his class with the bat. Acknowledging that Ravindra Jadeja’s batting has undergone a significant change for good in the last few years and that gives him the option of giving his premier all-rounder a few more overs in the middle.
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“Jaddu is somebody who can change the game on his own. In the last few years we’ve seen significant change in batting and it’s worth it to give him that extra bit of time, extra deliveries. The bowlers have found it difficult to contain left-handers, and that helps as well,” Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Jadeja also became the first CSK player and 10th player overall to score 50+ runs and take three or more wickets in an innings in IPL.
“It’s a good wicket but I felt the spinners had something up their sleeves and I felt that extra few runs Jadeja made helped. 165 would have been par, and once you get 25 extra the opposition has to come a little harder,” he added.
CSK had a horrified season in last year IPL. The MS Dhoni side finished second to bottom (7th) and failed to qualify for the IPL playoffs for the first time in its history. When asked what CSK are doing different this year, MS Dhoni said the 3-time champions have been just focusing on the process and winning the respect of the opposition by performing under pressure.
“We’re not doing anything drastically different from what we did last year. Me and Fleming, we keep saying that we focus on the process. You gain more respect if you keep following your path when you’re under pressure. I think that is something that gave a lot of confidence to the players. Credit to the players. Everybody would have felt the pressure in the first game because it was a lean season,” Dhoni added.
Talking about this season of IPL the ‘Yellow Lions’ have climbed up on the top spot after winning four of their five matches so far. CSK will next be seen playing against SRH on Wednesday (April 28).
