Needed to Prove to Myself That I Can Play ODIs - Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja played an unbeaten 39-run knock at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack as India pocketed the three-match series against West Indies from 0-1 down. Jadeja partnered with Shardul Thakur to chase 316 runs set by the visitors after the top-order gave a perfect start to set the stage for the run chase. The host sailed past the target with four wickets in hand and eight balls to go.

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul gave a perfect start capped well by skipper Virat Kohli to keep India in the hunt for the chase. But the dismissal of Kohli gave West Indies some hope, but Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur combined well to go home safely. This year has witnessed Jadeja grow as a batsman and provide stability in the batting order helping India to field an extra bowler.

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Needed to prove myself that I can play ODIs – Ravindra Jadeja

Meanwhile, Jadeja wasn’t a regular part of the white-ball set-up but came into the scheme of things closer to the ODI World Cup in England. After former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar termed him a bits and pieces player he nearly pulled it off for India in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand with a brilliant 77 off 59 balls. Since then, he has turned out to be pivotal for India’s success across formats.

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“I needed to prove to myself that I am still capable of playing limited-overs cricket. I need not prove to anybody else in the world, just needed to prove to myself,” the 31-year-old said at the post-match press conference. “I don’t have to prove it to anyone else in the world. I try and give my best whether it’s bowling, fielding or batting,” he added.

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Speaking about his knock, Ravindra Jadeja believes it was very crucial considering that it was a must-win game for India. Terming the wicket as excellent to bat, the Saurashtra-born all-rounder said that they wanted to play according to the merit of the ball. With consecutive series win after their exit from the ICC World Cup, India finish 2019 on a positive note.

“It was a very crucial innings as it came in a series-decider. The wicket was so good to bat on; we could just play with singles. We just needed to play according to the merit of the ball,” Jadeja concluded.

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