Image Credit- AP
The coach of India, Rahul Dravid, praised Ravindra
Jadeja’s contribution to the team just one day prior to this game. Dravid
mentioned Jadeja after he had claimed nine wickets. Taking more than one wicket
in a match is a respectable return, but the Indian attack has been so effective
that even Dravid thought Jadeja’s role had been overlooked. Just as Jadeja’s
exploits were beginning to be appreciated, Virat Kohli’s last-minute push for a
century against Bangladesh in Pune ensured that he was named Player of the
Match.
Jadeja became just the sixth bowler to record a
five-for in this World Cup, a day after Dravid’s remarks. It’s impossible to
ignore him now. But as Dravid pointed out, the measurements that matter inside
the team are not just wickets.
“If you look at the numbers, we look at stats, we
look at data, we look at it quite a lot, he has been exceptional in this
tournament,” Dravid said of Jadeja. “Because of how good our seamers
have been and how fantastic it has been to watch them upfront, the performances
of people like Jaddu and Kuldeep [Yadav] have probably gone slightly unnoticed.
“But I think his ability, and sometimes even
having to bowl with a slightly wetter ball, because the ball has been slightly
wet… Just the kind of control that he’s given us through the middle has been
sensational. And just the areas he’s bowled as well, I think every metric point
tells us that he’s up there with anyone in this tournament in terms of just the
areas he’s been able to hit, the speeds he’s been able to bowl at.
“There’s a lot of good conversations around the
group in our bowlers’ meetings with him. And just to see him in that kind of
relaxed space and very clear about what he wants to do and what he wants to
achieve. And just having that confidence to do that consistently over and over
again has been fantastic.