23 April,2026 05:20 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ravindra Jadeja (Pic: AFP)
In their IPL match on Wednesday, Jadeja's Rajasthan Royals defeated the Lucknow Super Giants by 40 runs thanks to an all-around performance by the Indian star. On not being able to finish his quota of overs in a couple of games previously, Jadeja told JioHotstar.
"When I come to the ground, I leave my personal ego in the hotel room. I just think about contributing in whatever way the team wants from me. When it comes to batting, I wanted to take it deep in this game, because if I had gotten out in the 17th or 18th over playing a wrong shot, we wouldn't have reached 159 and might have fallen 20-25 runs short." Jadeja said.
"Chasing a smaller target might then have been easier for LSG. In T20 cricket, every surface, condition, and match situation is different, so you have to adapt accordingly. If, on a given day, the team feels that I have a negative match-up against a particular batter, I understand that. It might work, or it might not; that's part of the game," he added.
Jadeja made 43 off 29 balls and then picked up one wicket for 29 runs in four overs to play a big part in the victory.
"I was just calculating the overs and was aware that Mayank Yadav might bowl the final over. I just wanted to use his pace, with a short leg-side boundary and mid-off and mid-on both up. We got those 20 runs, and as a team, you gain confidence when your bowlers have a few extra runs to play with." Jadeja said.
On bowling slow on that Lucknow surface, Jadeja said, "When I was batting against Digvesh Rathi, a few of his deliveries were stopping in the wicket. So, I thought that if I bowled slow on this surface, I might get some purchase as well."
"I didn't want to give any pace to either Mitch Marsh or Pooran, because they are big hitters and are known to hit big. So, I bowled slower, but I also wanted to vary my pace, as I didn't want to be predictable."
(With PTI Input)
