Ravindra Jadeja was playing only his second match in the World Cup 2019 but still managed to make an impact with his all-round performance as he almost pulled off a miracle for Team India in the first semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday.
Jadeja's valiant 77 off 56 balls took India excruciatingly near their target of 240 however once he got out, the chase fell apart as the group got bowled out for 221 in 49.3 overs.
Jadeja turned into the first batsman to score more than fifty keeps runs in a World Cup knockout match. It was his partnership with MS Dhoni which kept India alive in the pursuit after they crumbled to 92 for 6 in the 31st over.
The pair included 116 runs for the seventh wicket before Jadeja's expulsion in the 48th over. Dhoni left before long, run out on 50 which was the last nail in the box for India.
Previous captain Sachin Tendulkar lauded Jadeja for his unique knock and furthermore lauded Dhoni for being the controlling power behind that seventh-wicket partnership which nearly won for India in Manchester.
"He was splendid. At the beginning of today when he got Ross Taylor run out with that immediate toss, we in the discourse box were examining that it could be his day. The way he stepped up to the plate in that partnership (with Dhoni), he got New Zealand off guard, them asleep.
"There were a number of clean shots by him, which were from a batsman who was out there to accomplish something and prove something. I would give him 10 on 10 today.
"At this world stage who wouldn't have any desire to go out and perform well. You could see that assurance and that yearning to accomplish something was special and very much there. It was astonishing to watch the two, the manner in which they kept running between the wickets. That understanding was especially there in light of the fact that they play together in the IPL also," Tendulkar.
"The sound that his bat was making was something else. You could hear that. With Dhoni's direction and experience he made that effect yet shockingly it wasn't sufficient to complete the game. However, in a persuading way that Jadeja assumed responsibility, he was the attacker today. He was hitting those big shots and as it should be.
"I felt that really worked well. One individual was an assailant and the other one was an encounter campaigner. I felt MS (Dhoni) was going to assault in the last 3 overs. Since it likewise wound up significant for somebody to be there till the end. Be that as it may, conceivably the limits could have come somewhat before. But possibly the boundaries could have come a bit earlier. But in retrospect you have a number of things to say," Tendulkar said.
