‘Jadeja has improved his batting under pressure’: Balaji lauds India all rounder

By PTI

ABU DHABI: Chennai Super Kings bowling coach L Balaji lavished praise on Ravindra Jadeja after his match-winning effort against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, saying the Saurashtra all-rounder has improved his batting under pressure.

“I think, this was exactly one-year back in Dubai, the second game against KKR, Jaddu (Jadeja) won us the game in the last over. I recollected and little-bit went back with the memory and I thought when Ravi was playing, he would do some kind of magic and he has improved his batting under pressure,” Balaji, a former India pacer, said at the post-match press conference.

Jadeja won a close match for Chennai Super Kings as his back-end pyrotechnics ensured a two-wicket win over KKR.

Jadeja (22 off 8 balls) launched into pacer Prasidh Krishna, who bowled the 19th over, where the pacer lost his length completely under the Saurashtra all-rounder’s onslaught with CSK reaching the target of 172 in exactly 20 overs.

“And he (Jadeja) is showing that on the field and making sure, helping us to cross the line. It is a wonderful to see Ravi coming a little-bit higher and higher in his batting order, his batting ability has changed overall in the last one or two years,” added Balaji.

Meanwhile, KKR chief mentor David Hussey said that pacer Prasidh Krishna, who was taken to task by a blistering Ravindra Jadeja, was beaten by a better player.

“PK (Prasidh Krishna) has been (an) amazing depth bowler for us throughout this tournament, in the last two games, so he is definitely in our plans to bowl. Unfortunately, he got beaten by a better player today in Jadeja. I’m sure knowing PK he is going to bounce back and become the world class bowler that he actually is normally,” Hussey said.

He said that Andre Russell, who had to leave the field due to an injury, was probably going to bowl the 19th over, which changed the course of the match.

“Of course, when Andre (Russell) went off the park, he had one over to go, was he going to bowl, nobody really knows, he bowled particularly well up-front so, he probably was going to bowl the 19th over,” he said.