Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has heaped praise on Jaydev Unadkat for his superb spell against Delhi Capitals which helped his team in sealing a thrilling three-wicket win at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday.
Unadkat was at his best in the powerplay overs as he scalped three wickets. The experienced pacer bowled in the good areas and reaped fruits for his accurate line and length. Unadkat, who is always under scrutiny for his performances, answered the critics in style.
DC openers – Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan – had added a fine alliance of 138 runs against Chennai Super Kings but both of them were dismissed cheaply by Unadkat. Shaw was bamboozled by a slower delivery whereas Unadkat followed Dhawan, who was looking sweep the pacer over fine-leg.
Unadkat then flummoxed Ajinkya Rahane with another slower delivery as the Indian Test vice-captain got himself into a knot after prancing down the wicket. Unadkat returned with impressive figures of 4-0-15-3 in his quota of four overs and played a key role in restricting Delhi at a below-par score of 147 runs. Thus, Unadkat was awarded the Player of the Match award.
“Brilliant, brilliant by this left-armer. Especially what happened at the auctions. I always believe players don’t ask for big money. If he is getting it, it’s good for him. Look, when any bowler does well, it makes me really happy,” Pathan said while speaking to ESPN Cricinfo.
“Especially the way he bowled today. He used his variations really well, he was trying to hit the ball really, really hard, when he was trying to hit in the middle of the pitch. All the variations were working for him,” Pathan added.
Unadkat has often taken a lot of flak from the naysayers but he was right on the money against Delhi Capitals on Thursday. The left-arm pacer used his variations with guile and bamboozled the Capitals batsmen. Unadkat will aim to continue the good show for RR especially in the absence of Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.
RR will play their next match against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 19th April.
