India vs Sri Lanka 2nd T20I: Wasim Jaffer lauds Ravindra Jadeja for his all-round effort

Former India player turned coach Wasim Jaffer praised Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for his brilliant all-round skill in the second T20I against Sri Lanka in Dharamsala on Saturday. Jadeja scored an unbeaten 45 in 18 balls as India chased down the total – 184 with seven wickets and 17 balls to spare.

However, Jadeja stitched an unbroken 4th wicket stand of 58 in 4.1 overs with Shreyas Iyer (74* off 44) as well. Ravindra Jadeja came into bat at No. 5, with India requiring 56 to win off the last seven overs. While reflecting on the all-rounder’s innings, Jaffer opined on his knock.

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He told ESPNcricinfo: “It was really nice to see Jadeja coming in at No. 5 and playing the kind of knock that he played. It was an outstanding innings. His 45 off 18 changed the course of the game. This batting line-up has so much firepower. Given the dimensions of the ground (in Dharamsala), 10-12 runs per over is not going to be too hard for this batting line-up.”

Meanwhile, before Ravindra Jadeja, Sanju Samson also played a brilliant cameo, smashing 39 runs in 25 balls. He smashed Lahiru Kumara for a boundary and three sixes in an over as well. While speaking about Samson’s innings, Wasim Jaffer stated: “Sanju took his time early on because Shreyas was going great guns. He hasn’t got going in T20 internationals. He has obviously shown a lot of promise. So it was really good to see him play his free-flowing game. Hope to see him do that more often.”

“Shreyas Iyer is in a very good space” – Wasim Jaffer

After Team India lost the captain, Rohit Sharma (1) and Ishan Kishan (16) very cheaply, Samson added 84 runs with Shreyas Iyer for the third wicket and eventually helped the team clinch a victory.

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While Ravindra Jadeja and Samson played great cameos, it was Shreyas Iyer who held the innings from the other end with a sublime fifty. The swashbuckling batsman struck six fours and four sixes in his match-winning knock as well. Iyer smashed an unbeaten half-century in the 1st T20I whereas scored 80 in the 3rd ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad as well.

“Shreyas Iyer is in a very good space. Probably getting consecutive chances has helped his cause. Sometimes, in such a strong batting line-up, players don’t get consecutive chances. But when they do, it feels right and they can express themselves, which is what is happening with Shreyas,” Wasim Jaffer shared While speaking about Shreyas’ effort.