Former India opener Wasim Jaffer hailed Ravindra Jadeja for his splendid all-round show on Saturday. Jadeja played a knock of 18-ball 45 and scripted India a 7-wicket win in the second match in Dharamsala to seal the series win.
After winning the toss, India invited Sri Lanka to bat first and the visitors posted a good total of 183/5 in 20 overs. Pathum Nissanka anchored the innings from one end with a score of 53-ball 75 runs and at the end skipper, Dasun Shanaka gave them a good flourish as the visitors scored 72 runs in the last 4 overs. But it wasn’t proved enough for the hosts as Shreyas Iyer 74*(44) and Sanju Samson 39(25) laid the foundation for India and Jadeja took them home.
“Shreyas Iyer is in a very good space”- Wasim Jaffer
Wasim Jaffer said that it’s good to see India backing the ability of Jadeja to send him higher in the order.
“It was really nice to see Jadeja coming in at No. 5 and playing the kind of knock that he played. It was an outstanding innings. His 45 off 18 changed the course of the game. This batting line-up has so much firepower.
“Given the dimensions of the ground (in Dharamsala), 10-12 runs per over is not going to be too hard for this batting line-up,” Wasim Jaffer spoke to ESPNcricinfo.
He also lauded Sanju Samson’s effort who got a chance to bat in India’s colours after a long break.
“Sanju took his time early on because Shreyas was going great guns. He hasn’t got going in T20 internationals. He has obviously shown a lot of promise. So it was really good to see him play his free-flowing game. Hope to see him do that more often,” he said.
He also heaped praises for Shreyas Iyer who played back to back cracking knocks to take India home.
“Shreyas Iyer is in a very good space. Probably getting consecutive chances has helped his cause. Sometimes, in such a strong batting line-up, players don’t get consecutive chances. But when they do, it feels right and they can express themselves, which is what is happening with Shreyas,” Jaffer said.
Also, read India Need To Plan Death Overs A Little Better Next Time – Wasim Jaffer