Ravindra Jadeja’s outstanding performance with the ball for Chennai Super Kings against Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai has garnered praise from West Indies legend Brian Lara and former India and CSK teammate Ambati Rayudu. Jadeja secured figures of 3-18 in four overs, while pacers Tushar Deshpande and Mustafizur Rahman claimed 3-33 and 2-22 respectively, aiding CSK in limiting Kolkata Knight Riders to a below-par 137/9. CSK clinched victory by seven wickets, with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad remaining unbeaten on 67 runs.
Speaking exclusively on Star Sports Cricket Live, Rayudu expressed his views on Jadeja’s bowling performance against KKR. “I think he tries to bowl on the seam. He attempts to get the seam into the wicket and get that grip on the surface. Additionally, he varies his speed. When he bowls to a left-hander, he tries to bowl quick, as he did to Venkatesh lyer and Sunil Narine. It was wide, it was really fast, and he bowls directly into the wicket. He knows the surface really well and he knows his bowling is now much better than it used to be. He’s a proper all-rounder, and CSK is lucky to have him.”
Lara too shared his thoughts on ladeja’s bowling performance against KKR and said the spinner knows where to bowl at the Chepauk Stadium pitch. “When he has the pitch that suits him, it’s difficult. He’s got a very low trajectory of the ball. Also, he bowls so quickly, giving you little time to think about what to do. He finishes his over in under two minutes sometimes. So, he’s at you all the time. But he has a great amount of experience at that cricket ground (Chepauk), and he knows the size of the boundaries, he knows where to bowl the ball. And you see a lot of the guys getting out into the deep, Venkatesh lyer, even Sunil Narine. So, I think worldwide, he’s a great bowler. But at this particular ground, he’s dangerous when the conditions are in his favour,” Lara told Star Sports on Cricket Live on Monday.
Rayudu was also impressed with CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s performance as he struck 67 not out off 58 balls to help CSK win the match.