"He didn't bowl even one bad ball" - Harbhajan Singh lauds Ravindra Jadeja's spell in CSK's IPL 2023 win against SRH

Harbhajan Singh has lauded Ravindra Jadeja for bowling an immaculate line and length in the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) win in their IPL 2023 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Jadeja registered figures of 3/22 in four overs as CSK restricted SRH to 134/7 after asking them to bat first in Chennai on Friday, April 21. The home team then chased down the target with seven wickets and eight deliveries to spare to consolidate their third position in the IPL 2023 points table.

During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked whether Ravindra Jadeja's cause would have been helped by bowling four overs at a stretch, to which he responded:

"You get the rhythm and if see Ravindra Jadeja today - he didn't bowl even one bad ball. The line and length was so precise that the batters had to do something special to score runs, that he won't give runs, so you would have to play some shots to score runs."

The former Indian spinner questioned the SunRisers Hyderabad batters' shot selection and Mayank Agarwal in particular, elaborating:

"The shot options they chose were wrong. Mayank Agarwal came out of the crease so early. He gave a telegram that he was going to come out and gave the bowler an opportunity to see him and bowl slightly wider."

Jadeja first had Abhishek Sharma caught by Ajinkya Rahane at long-on to break a 36-run second-wicket partnership. He then had the other set batter Rahul Tripathi caught by Akash Singh at short fine leg before getting Agarwal stumped by MS Dhoni.

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"He bowled at the right spot and the right pace based on the captain's advice" - Imran Tahir on Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja was awarded the Player of the Match for his game-defining spell. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Imran Tahir was asked whether MS Dhoni would have told Ravindra Jadeja at the strategic time out that he would be bowling a four-over spell and asked him to use the surface effectively, to which he replied:

"He might have said that but the spinners have to bowl at that spot, keep the right line and length and use the wicket properly. All these things are in the spinner's mind. He bowled at the right spot and the right pace based on the captain's advice."

The former CSK leg-spinner added that the SRH batters' overly aggressive approach helped Jadeja's cause, explaining:

"The Hyderabad players tried to play big shots against him in the middle phase. It is a big ground in Chennai. If you are 70-30 against the spinners, you will get out. You have to hit it with the middle of the bat to hit a six. They should have played along the ground and I feel they could have easily scored 150."

Akash Singh (1/17), Matheesha Pathirana (1/22) and Maheesh Theekshana (1/27) were the other wicket-takers for CSK. Devon Conway's unbeaten 77 off 57 balls and his 87-run opening partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad (35 off 30) then ensured an easy win for the four-time champions.