Former Indian cricket team captain and coach spinner Anil Kumble lauded Ravindra Jadeja for his ball that dismissed Steve Smith in the teams’ Cricket World Cup opener on Sunday, saying that the spinner changed his angles well. Ravindra Jadeja’s spell of 3/28 was one of the standout performances during India’s win over Australia in their Cricket World Cup campaign opener in Chennai on Sunday. He also took the prized wicket of Steve Smith and registered the best figures by an Indian spinner against Australia in a Cricket World Cup match.
The ball delivered by Jadeja landed in the middle but took a turn to beat Smith’s bat and knock the off stump.
Kumble said batters should show intent against Jadeja. “If you do not show any intent against Jadeja, it becomes very tough for a batter. Six out of six times, he will land the ball on that point. On a surface like this, all he did was change the angles. He went close to the stumps, bowled to the right-hander and then went round, slightly wide, threw that angle in, that is what got Smith out. He was thinking that it would come straight but because of the angle, it beat his outside edge. Brilliant bowling,” Kumble said in a video by ESPNCricinfo.
India registered a six-wicket win against Australia in their opening match of the World Cup due to tight bowling and efforts of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
The Indian men’s cricket team arrived in Delhi on Monday ahead of their second World Cup clash against Afghanistan.
India opened their campaign with a 6-wicket victory against Australia on Sunday. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli came to the rescue after India stumbled thrice in the first 10 overs. Their partnership laid the foundation for success while chasing a target of 200.
India’s rising youngster Shubman Gill will once again miss the game as he continues to suffer from illness.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier on Monday confirmed that Gill will stay in Chennai and will not travel with the squad for the Men in Blue’s next World Cup clash against Afghanistan.
“Team India batter Shubman Gill will not be travelling with the team to Delhi on 9th October 2023. The opening batter who missed the team’s first fixture in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia in Chennai is set to miss the team’s next fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on the 11th of October. He will stay back in Chennai and will be under the supervision of the medical team,” BCCI said in a statement.
In Shubman Gill’s absence, India is likely to stick with the same playing XI that they named in the World Cup campaign opener against Australia.
Ishan Kishan will be the most viable option to open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma. India will face Afghanistan on Wednesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
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