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."
Jadeja stressed the importance of adapting to changing conditions in white-ball cricket due to the dew factor, which can significantly alter playing conditions in the evening.
While India posted a formidable total of 326/5 in their innings, Jadeja believed that the pitch conditions were more challenging for batsmen earlier in the day. He stated, "If you ask me personally, the wicket in the evening was a little easier. I won't say it was easy, but it was fine. But in the afternoon, there was turn and it was slow, so batsmen couldn't hit. But credit to Virat (Kohli) and the middle-order batsmen who handled their spinners; it was very good."
The match was especially significant for Virat Kohli, who celebrated his 35th birthday by scoring an unbeaten century (101 off 121 balls) and matching Sachin Tendulkar's record with his 49th one-day international century.
Jadeja expressed the importance of such a performance on Kohli's birthday, saying, "I would say this is special for him. Very few people get a chance to wear the Indian jersey, so it is a big thing. But if you have a good performance on your birthday, and the team wins, then it becomes doubly special."
India have already secured their spot in the semi-finals, and they are set to face the Netherlands in their final group stage match in Bangalore on Thursday. Jadeja praised the team's momentum, emphasising that they aim to maintain their outstanding performance across all departments in the semi-final and final stages of the tournament.
(With inputs from Reuters)
