Irfan Pathan, former India left-arm fast bowler praised Jaydev Unadkat while speaking on ESPNCricinfo and explained the things he did right in the match.
Rajasthan Royals pacer Jaydev Unadkat starred for Rajasthan Royals (RR) with the ball in their second game of the Indian Premier League 2021 season against Delhi Capitals on Thursday. The left-arm pacer was playing his first game of the season, having missed RR’s opening match against Punjab Kings on Monday.
Irfan Pathan: Jaydev Unadkat Used His Variations Really Well And Picking Early Wickets Gave Him Lot Of Confidence
Jaydev Unadkat topped DC’s top order, dismissing Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, and Ajinkya Rahane. In his four overs, Jaydev Unadkat registered figures of 15/3 in the match, thus helping RR restrict Delhi to 147/8 in 20 overs. Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, former India left-arm fast bowler Irfan Pathan praised Jaydev Unadkat and explained the things he did right in the match.
“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,” Irfan Pathan said.
“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,” Irfan Pathan added.
“When you get early wickets, it gives you a lot of confidence, and there is no looking afterward. This spell of his bowling will give him a lot of confidence going forward in IPL. It will be really good for Rajasthan Royals,” Irfan Pathan concluded.
Jaydev Unadkat now has the best bowling average of 5 among bowlers who bowled during IPL 2021 and also the best economy rate of 3.75. Jaydev Unadkat has picked 84 scalps in 80 IPL matches averaging 28.98. While Rajasthan Royals had released him after the IPL 2019, they bought him back at the auction and retained him for the IPL 2021.
The 2017 IPL season was one of the best for Jaydev Unadkat, who claimed 24 wickets from 12 matches for the defunct Rising Pune Supergiant. With 11 wickets in 15 games in IPL 2018, he was probably bogged down by the expectation of a high salary he received at the IPL Player Auction 2018.
However, after being released initially, RR bought him back for INR 8.4 crore at the auction prior to the 2019 season, showing faith in his ability.
Jaydev Unadkat was bought back by Rajasthan Royals before IPL 2019 for INR 8.40 crore, hence a profit of INR 3.1 crores. Jaydev Unadkat was the costliest Indian in IPL 2018 when he was sold to Rajasthan for Rs 11.50 crore, but after sub-par performances in the league, he was not retained.
David Miller And Chris Morris’ Late Assault Give Rajasthan Surprising First Victory
Back in the team, left-handed batsman David Miller produced a 62-run knock and it was followed by Chris Morris’ cameo of 36 runs off just 18 balls as Royals defeated Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium.
RR required 27 off the last 2 over. The 19th over then swung the momentum in RR’s favour as Chris Morris clubbed two sixes off Kagiso Rabada to bring down the target to 12 runs off the final over. DC opted to give Tom Curran the responsibility to defend those 12 runs. But Chris Morris, as calm as ever, hit two sixes off the England pacer and got RR over the line.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 150/7 (David Miller 62, Chris Morris 36*; Avesh Khan 3/32) beat Delhi Capitals 147/8 (Rishabh Pant 51, Tom Curran 21; Jaydev Unadkat 3/15) by 3 wickets.