Ravindra Jadeja believes that the turning point in the 2023 World Cup match between India and Australia was when he dismissed Steve Smith. India won the game by six wickets, and this crucial wicket changed the game’s dynamics.
Australia, batting first, was bowled out for 199, and India successfully chased the target in 41.2 overs. When Jadeja got Smith out for 46 runs, Australia was at a decent position of 110/2 after 27 overs, but his wicket led to a batting collapse.
During a press conference after India’s remarkable victory, Jadeja identified Smith’s dismissal as the pivotal moment in the game.
“I think that was the turning moment. When you get a wicket like Steve Smith, from there onwards it was not easy to just come in and rotate the strike for the new batter. I would say that wicket was the turning point. From there onwards, they were 110/3 and 199 all out,” the all-rounder opined.
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Discussing his outstanding performance, Jadeja mentioned his strategy was to bowl accurately within the stumps on a pitch that resembled a Test wicket. He continued:
“This was my plan, that I should bowl at the stumps and luckily the ball to Smith turned a little more. My plan was simple. I was thinking that this is a Test match bowling wicket, I shouldn’t experiment too much because everything was happening in the wicket. So I was trying to bowl it stump to stump.”
In addition to Smith, Jadeja also took the wickets of Labuschagne and Alex Carey in a single over, resulting in his impressive figures of 3/28. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also contributed with two wickets each.
“Nobody was too hyper” – Jadeja’s thoughts on India’s top-order collapse
While pursuing 200 runs, India faced a dreadful beginning, with Ishan Kishan, captain Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer all dismissed without scoring. This left them at 2/3 after two overs. However, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli formed a partnership of 165 runs for the fourth wicket, which significantly helped India in their pursuit. When asked about the team’s mood after losing those early wickets, Jadeja remarked:
“When you’re three wickets down in just a couple of overs, you obviously panic a little bit. But we know Virat and Rahul, they’ve been doing it for the team for so many years.”
”So, I think nobody was too hyper or panicked at that time. But yeah, luckily, they played brilliantly, they know the conditions well and they took the game forward till the last so I think that was amazing to see.”
India’s upcoming matches in the 2023 World Cup include a fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on Wednesday, October 11, followed by a match against Pakistan on October 14.
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