There was no whirlwind innings, not at least in comparison to what has been passing for absurdly belligerent in this edition of the IPL. Nor did he take the most vital wickets, Tushar Deshpande ticked this box by scalping Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw. Yet in grubby affairs with middling scores, Ravindra Jadeja stands out excelling in doing the mundane—firefighting collapses with balanced batting, wielding tireless control over the ball and throwing himself around to save every run possible.
The last facet has long been taken for granted. But this may be a good time to once again point out how significant Jadeja’s latest uptick has been for Chennai Super Kings. Wicket-taking was never his forte. But if economy is a suitable indicator of the difficulty to hit a bowler, Jadeja’s 7.26 sits third among all Indian bowlers with at least 200 balls in this IPL, behind Jasprit Bumrah’s 6.25 and Axar Patel’s 7.26. Taking into consideration that he generally comes on after the end of the first Powerplay, that’s a comforting statistic for any franchise.
Perhaps more for India, going into a T20 World Cup pretty low on the allrounder quotient because of Shivam Dube’s relative inexperience and Hardik Pandya’s disappointing returns. The possibility of Axar Patel and Jadeja fielded in the same eleven being next to zero, this has been an assuring preview of what can be expected from Jadeja. None of this should deflect from Jadeja’s actual performance as bowler on Sunday—wheeling away, attacking the stumps to not allow any room to maneuver till Punjab Kings finally gave in.
The rub of green probably went Jadeja’s way when Sam Curran reached out for a wide ball but couldn’t clear long-off. But enticing Prabhsimran Singh into a lofted shot with a fuller ball is what makes Jadeja such an unpredictable bowler. Jadeja the economical bowler with stifling lengths is one thing, Jadeja the wicket-taking bowler in addition to stifling lengths becomes a different game altogether. Punjab Kings got to experience that side of Jadeja, ratcheting the pressure with every dot, prising out wickets and making life miserable.
India will play day games at the T20 World Cup. Which means dew won’t be a factor on slow pitches in the US and Caribbean. So, when you take that into factor, Jadeja’s performance on Monday becomes all the more indicative of how India could stand to benefit. This still doesn’t cover Jadeja’s batting, which statistically speaking, doesn’t set the stage on fire. CSK’s gamble to send him at No 4 thrice in this IPL too has had mixed returns. But when the chips are down, no one probably does a better salvaging job at No 6 than Jadeja.
Jadeja knew what he wanted to do. “The wicket was slow, and it was expected to be slow because it was quite warm,” said Jadeja after CSK’s 28-run win on Monday. “Wanted to build a partnership of 30-40 so that we have a platform for the end. My role is to build a partnership if we lose early wickets.”
If taking three wickets on a less responsive surface is a trait any team would kill to possess, scoring a 26-ball 43 in an innings where no one else crossed 32 comes a close second. By reverting to the natural order of things—letting Jadeja thrive in a batting role he knows and relishes best—CSK has not only helped themselves come out of a knot but also given Jadeja much-needed simulation for the upcoming T20 World Cup. There may not be any dazzling array of strokes, or a bagful of wickets, but trust Jadeja to quietly get the job done.
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