Ahmedabad, May 30 () Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming has showered praise on Ravindra Jadeja for his match-winning performance, saying the all-rounder is a gun player and he delivered for the team in the final.
Jadeja, whose contribution with the bat was a mixed one this year, proved to be the hero for CSK in the all-important IPL final against Gujarat Titans (GT) , here on Monday.
In a nail-biting encounter affected by rain, Jadeja displayed remarkable composure by smashing a six and four, successfully scoring the required 10 runs from the last two balls as the Chennai-based side chased down the revised target of 171 runs in just 15 overs to clinch secure their fifth IPL title.
During the post-match press conference, Fleming expressed admiration for the 34-year-old’s outstanding performance and emphasized his significant contribution as a bowler to the team.
Jadeja has had a terrific season for CSK with the ball as he picked up 20 wickets in 16 games this year.
“It was a pretty good one today. It’s probably been a difficult 18 months where the captaincy was difficult. The injury was difficult. It took a bit of time for him to be out of the game and come reinvigorated in the Test game and then reintegrate into CSK. He plays a great role with the ball. But we have so much firepower, that sometimes we use him lower down the order. But something had to give.”
Regarding Jadeja’s batting, Fleming praised skipper MS Dhoni for his supportive and proactive approach in promoting Jadeja up the batting order.
“MS has been really supportive and proactive in getting him up there and today he repaid that faith. The six, in particular, off a ball that was very close to perfect was defining, and then a good left-hander straight drive through fine leg was a great way to finish it.”
“I couldn’t be more happy for him. Yeah, there has been some frustration at times, but he is a gun player. No.1 ranked player and today he delivered,” he said.
bc/cs
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