Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming lauded all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after he played a match-winning cameo of 6-ball 15 to help his team beat Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2023 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Tuesday by five wickets (DLS method).
CSK looked down and out when they needed 10 runs off the last two balls to chase down 171 (DLS target) against Mohit Sharma, who had bowled accurately on the first four balls of the final over. However, Jadeja pulled a rabbit out of the hat as he smashed a six and a four to take his team to a thrilling win.
In fact, Jadeja was on five runs from four balls as he had failed to hit the ground running at the crucial junction of the game. However, the experienced batter delivered when it mattered the most as he held his nerves towards the end.
Mohit Sharma slightly missed his length on the penultimate ball and Jadeja was able to capitalize as he smashed a six straight over long-on. Subsequently, Jadeja hit a boundary on the final ball, which was a full toss on leg-stump, to take his team to an emphatic win.
On the other hand, Jadeja had returned with figures of 1-38 in his quota of four overs. He had got the big wicket of in-form Shubman Gill, who was stumped meticulously by CSK skipper MS Dhoni.
Stephen Fleming said in the post-match press conference, “It [his performance] was a pretty good one today. It’s probably been a difficult 18 months where the captaincy was difficult. The injury was difficult. It took a bit of time for him to be out of the game and come reinvigorated in the Test game and then reintegrate into CSK. He plays a great role with the ball. But we have so much firepower, that sometimes we use him lower down the order. But something had to give.”
Fleming gave credit to CSK captain MS Dhoni for getting the best out of Ravindra Jadeja in the batting department.
“MS [Dhoni] has been really supportive and proactive in getting him up there and today he repaid that faith.” Fleming added, “The six, in particular, off a ball that was very close to perfect was defining, and then a good left-hander straight drive through fine leg was a great way to finish it. I couldn’t be more happy for him. Yeah, there has been some frustration at times, but he is a gun player. No.1 ranked player and today he delivered.”
Jadeja was able to prove his mettle when he mattered the most and CSK had their backs against the wall but he kept his nerves in the end. The all-rounder will now play a key role in the WTC final against Australia, which will be played on June 7 at the Oval.
