Irfan Pathan calls out Ravindra Jadeja’s intent as India suffer crushing defeat in Raipur ODI

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan attributed India’s defeat in the second ODI against South Africa to Ravindra Jadeja. Pathan noted that Jadeja’s lack of aggression during his knock of 24 runs off 27 balls hurt the team as they fell short of a score close to 370 and instead finished on 358-5. At one stage, India were in the 40th position at 289-4 after Virat Kohli’s dismissal, with the teams expected to score 80-90 runs in the last 10 overs. However, India’s innings lacked the necessary momentum and resulted in a mediocre total.

“There was a problem for me. Ravindra Jadeja’s 27 off 24 balls was extremely slow. We were saying during the commentary that it could hurt India and in the end that was the difference. If you are in such a strong position of over 300 and everyone is batting on run a ball when you are on 88, it obviously means the innings lack urgency. Sometimes there are slower deliveries and that is good, but Pathan, on the Seedhi Baat programme, imagined Jadeja’s intentions He said it was disappointing.

Pathan emphasized that India needed additional studies due to the dew factor and suggested that Jadeja’s approach should be more assertive.

“The intention could have been better. And I’m not saying this in hindsight. We said this during commentary as well. The ball looked like it was going to get wet, which always creates problems for the fielding side. South Africa’s plan was to start cautiously. But Jadeja’s inability to pull his weight with the bat was a disappointing factor for India,” Pathan added.

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In addition to Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad also contributed a century, helping India reach 358-5. A crucial fielding error occurred when Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped Gaikwad early in the innings, which allowed him to capitalize and score a quick century. Matthew Breetzki and Dewald Brevis also added fifties to lead South Africa to a series-tying victory.

While Axar Patel was rested, India relied on Jadeja and Sundar to step up late in the game. Unfortunately, Sundar was dismissed after scoring just 1 run from 8 balls, while Jadeja managed to score only 24 runs from 27 balls. Their failure to improve the scoring rate proved costly as the team could only muster 41 runs in the last five overs despite Rahul’s impressive 66 from 43 overs.

India’s search for a reliable finisher has been ongoing for years, spanning several tournaments and leadership changes. This deficiency was especially evident in the 2023 World Cup final, where shooting faltered when courage was needed. The need for a finisher continues. KL Rahul has emerged as India’s most effective death over batsman since 2023, amassing 424 runs at a strike rate of 142.76, but he is not ideal for the finisher role.

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