Ravindra Jadeja buries PBKS with all-round show in Dharamsala

Ravindra Jadeja, the T20 cricketer, has induced polarising opinions of late. He is a left-handed batter and a left-arm spinner. That is a combination worth gold dust in terms of cracking matchups with both bat and ball but there are caveats attached with him. 

He doesn’t turn the ball much when there is less help for spinners. This is evident from his record in and outside the Chepauk in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2022. 

With the bat, he struggles to hit big shots against slower bowlers, again evident in his strike rate of 113.2 against spin compared to 137.6 against pace in IPL since 2022. 

This season, he has either been good with the ball or the bat, but not both. His bowling has been timid outside Chepauk. With the bat, Jadeja’s only specified role thus far has been protecting Shivam Dube from batting in the powerplay and has often been used to soak pressure early on.

However, on Sunday (May 5), Jadeja ticked every box of a bonafide all-rounder. His 43 off 26 balls took Chennai Super Kings to a par score of 167. During Punjab Kings’ run chase, he snaffled 3/20 in four overs. He was both the top scorer in the game and had the best bowling figures. 

He walked in to bat with CSK in trouble. From 69/1 in seven overs, they collapsed to 75/4 in 8.5 overs when Jadeja was sent in at number six. On a tricky pitch, with Rahul Chahar in form, Jadeja nurdled his way through the middle overs, scoring 18 off 14 balls. 

At that point, it felt like it would be another snail-paced finish from Jadeja, the finisher. But the left-hander fought through till the final over and found two sixes, stretching CSK to a total to fight. 

Jadeja was given the ball when Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh were reviving PBKS from a poor start. Mitchell Santner pocketed Shashank in the next over and Jadeja took care of Prabhsimran off his second over. His third over went for only three runs and in his last over, he buried the game, dismissing both Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma. 

Conceding only two runs in the over, he escalated PBKS’ asking rate to 12.7 with each of their top seven batters back in the hut. 

Jadeja’s control was magnificent. By the time he ended his spell by the 13th over, Punjab’s chase was effectively done and dusted. 

The conditions in Dharamsala were tailor-made for Jadeja. Because in a game of modest scores, his two sixes in the death overs were just enough for him to shine with the bat. In a high-scoring game, the 35-year-old might have needed to do much more. 

But for now, he has played an all-round role in arresting CSK’s losing streak against their bogey team, Punjab. Moreover, he has provided a pump to Chennai’s bumpy ride this season. 

Before arriving in Dharamsala, they were in a position where they could afford only one loss in their remaining fixtures. 

That equation remains as CSK have three games left in the league stage but at a stage where the five-time champions cannot afford a slip-up, Jadeja has kicked off on an excellent note. 

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