World Cup 2023: Ravi Shastri names Australian batter as Jadeja's bunny after Chennai win
ODI World Cup 2023: Ravi Shastri
Former Indian men's cricket team coach believes Steve Smith is all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's bunny after the left-arm orthodox spinner outfoxed the Australian batter during the World Cup match in Chennai on Sunday (October 8).
Opting to bat first, Australia had a wretched start to the proceedings as opener Mitchell Marsh departed for nought.Afterwards, David Warner and Smith stitched a partnership and handled things sensibly. However,Jadeja bowled a beauty to get Smith and the wheels came off for Australia after that.
“Dream dismissal and he has dismissed him 10 to 12 times. He (Smith) is his bunny. It is not that easy to play such a delivery because of the speed at which he bowls. As a batter, you don't know which ball is going to turn and which ball will go straight,” Shastri told host broadcaster Star Sports.
The former Indian cricketer added that even Jadeja himself didn't know which ball would turn or not. The Chennai pitch assisted the spinners plenty and the left-armer made full use of it.
“He (Jadeja) himself said in the interview that he doesn't know which ball will turn and which will go straight. If he doesn't know, how will the batter know? So he plays inside the line at times and outside the line on other occasions,” added Shastri.
“If he plays outside, he becomes leg-before and if he plays inside, it hits the stumps, just like it happened with Smith. It's not easy as he will trouble anyone. If he gets a surface like this, he becomes the most difficult bowler because his every ball does not turn,” said Shastri.
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From 110/2, the five-time World champions slipped to 199 all out, primarily due to Jadeja's excellent spell in the middle overs. He accounted for three Australian scalps and could've had more if the fielders had accepted the offerings made by the batters.
India's World Cup campaign
With Axar Patel out of the World Cup, India are heavily reliant on Jadeja to perform the all-rounder duties. While Jadeja has started off admirably with the ball, experts believe he will have to pick form with the bat as India get deeper into the World Cup campaign.
India will face Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on October 11 before squaring up against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Narendra Modi International Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14.
(With inputs from agencies)
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