Cricket World Cup: "There was turn in the wicket.....," says Jadeja after brilliant spell against Australia

Chennai: Following a brilliant performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup match against Australia in Chennai, Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said that there was a turn in the wicket and he was also aware of the conditions because of him playing here for Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings.

In the fifth match of the 2023 ODI World Cup at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium, Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja delivered an outstanding performance, restricting the Australian batting lineup to a total of 199 runs on Sunday.

"I play for CSK so I know the conditions here, when I saw the pitch I thought I should get 2-3 wickets, luckily I got 3 wickets and am very happy. I was looking to bowl into the stumps and there was turn, you never know which one is going straight and which one is turning, the odd ball was turning and I was just mixing the pace. Chennai crowd always come in good numbers and it is good to see a full house. Just go out there and play simple cricket, not try anything fancy and keep it simple," said Jadeja after the innings.

Coming to the match, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh for a duck, but opener David Warner (41 in 52 balls with six fours) and Steve Smith (46 in 71 balls with five fours) helped the Aussies recover with their 69-run second-wicket partnership. Marnus Labuschagne (27) tried to take the Aussie innings forward with Smith, but following Smith's dismissal, Australia faced a collapse.

The spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), Kuldeep Yadav (2/42) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/34) wreaked havoc on Australia's line-up of recognised batters while the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah (2/35), Mohammed Siraj (1/26) and Hardik Pandya (1/28) removed the lower order, sinking Australia from 110/3 to 199 all out in 49.3 overs. Mitchell Starc (28) tried to help the Aussies play the full quota of 50 overs, but he failed.
India needs 200 runs to kickstart their campaign with a win.