NEW DELHI: All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja emphasised that India deliberately challenged themselves by choosing to bat first in their match against South Africa on Sunday, which India won by a resounding 243 runs. Jadeja played a pivotal role in the match, taking five wickets for 33 runs during his nine-over spell as South Africa were bowled out for just 83. India's dominant performance marked their eighth consecutive victory in the ICC World Cup 2023.
This match was the first time in the tournament that India had won the toss and elected to bat, and Jadeja explained the rationale behind this decision, saying, "After winning the toss, we were trying to challenge ourselves. It was a challenge for us to bat first because in the second innings if the dew comes, we needed to figure out how to bowl with the dew. If such a situation comes in the knockout stage, we should know how to handle that situation."
