IPL 2021: 'Can change the game on his own': CSK captain MS Dhoni lauds Ravindra Jadeja's all-round show against RCB
India's star all-rounder scored a bombastic 28-ball 62 at the death of the first innings and rocked RCB with an exceptional spell of 3/13 in four overs.
Ravindra Jadeja produced one of the best all-round performances in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to guide MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings, to a 69-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in match 19 of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
India's star all-rounder scored a bombastic 28-ball 62 at the death of the first innings and rocked RCB with an exceptional spell of 3/13 in four overs. He helped CSK end RCB's unbeaten run and jump to the top of the points table.
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MS Dhoni was all praise of his player, who became the first CSK player and 10th player overall to score 50+ runs and take three or more wickets in an innings in IPL.
"Jaddu is somebody who can change the game on his own. In the last few years, we've seen a significant change in batting and it's worth it to give him that extra bit of time, extra deliveries," said Dhoni.
Former Indian skipper Dhoni also added that Jadeja's cameo at the end provided a good cushion for his bowlers. "It's a good wicket [to bat on] but I felt the spinners had something up their sleeves and I felt that extra few runs Jadeja made helped," Dhoni stated.
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Opting to bat first, CSK experienced a solid start with openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis putting on 74 runs for the first wicket. Once the former was dismissed for 33, Suresh Raina chipped in with a cameo of 24. However, RCB pegged back with quick wickets as the current Purple Cap holder Harshal Patel dismissed Raina and du Plessis (50) in one over.
Reeling at 117/3 in 15 overs, CSK needed a strong finish and they got just that. Jadeja's blistering knock powered CSK to 191/4.
In response, RCb started off ferociously with opener Devdutt Padikkal only dealing in boundaries. They surged to 44/0 in three overs. CSK then, through Sam Curran and Shardul Thakur clawed their way back. While Curran dismissed RCB skipper Virat Kohli for 8, Thakur sent Padikkal packing on 34.
Glenn Maxwell, RCB's in-form batsman, scored a quickfire 22 before being castles by Jadeja. That was the start of the collapse as Jadeja picked up three wickets (finishing with figures of 3/13 in four overs) and Imran Tahir bagged two (pocketing 2/16 in 4 overs) as CSK threw RCB completely out of contention.
Eventually, RCB lost by 69 runs but managed to play out the 20 overs and avoided getting all-out.