Former Indian Head Coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for dismissing Steve Smith with a peach of delivery in India’s World Cup opener against Australia at Chepauk on Sunday.
The left-arm spinner has dismissed the star batter 11 times in International cricket and his wicket in the opening encounter turned out to be a crucial moment of the game in Chennai.
Ravindra Jadeja’s remarkable delivery bamboozled Steve Smith by smashing the top of the off-stump. The Australian batter looked stunned by the delivery after failing to read the ball from the surface, which eventually led to the team’s batting collapse against the host nation in Chepauk.
Speaking on Star Sports, Ravi Shastri feels that Steve Smith has been a bunny for Ravindra Jadeja in International cricket being dismissed to him across the formats. He asserted that it would be difficult for any batter to pick his ball if the surface offered some turn because of the speed with which he bowls in the game.
“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.”
“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,” Ravi Shastri said.
Apart from Steve Smith’s wicket, Ravindra Jadeja struck twice in short intervals to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey to put the Australia side in all sorts of trouble in the game. The left-arm spinner impressed everyone with his high-quality bowling on the wicket, where he has played a lot of cricket over the years.
Ravindra Jadeja Becomes The Most Difficult Bowler – Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri believes that it is extremely difficult to play Ravindra Jadeja in spin-friendly conditions, as he has the skillset to dismiss the high-quality batter with his spin bowling.
“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,” Ravi Shastri added.
The 34-year-old has been brilliant with the ball for the Men in Blue in ODI cricket. He took 15 wickets for a 4.94 economy rate before the match against Australia and could be crucial for the team’s success in the forthcoming games in the World Cup.