Jadeja proves all-round value ahead of World Cup

NEW DELHI: India will be counting on Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round brilliance in the T20 World Cup in June and the Chennai Super Kings player looks in fine fettle as he produced a match-winning performance in Sunday’s Indian Premier League match against Punjab Kings.

The 35-year-old is India’s premier spin-bowling all-rounder, apart from being a gun fielder, and will be expected to play a key role in the T20 showpiece in the United States and West Indies, where the ball is likely to turn.

Against Punjab in Dharamsala, Jadeja topscored for Chennai with a breezy 43 and then returned to claim 3-20 to help the defending champions climb to third place after their sixth win in 11 matches.

“It was a day game, so the wicket was slow,” man of the match Jadeja said of his batting approach in a low-scoring contest. “We did well in the (batting) powerplay, but then we couldn’t build partnerships. We wanted to build partnerships, so in the last four-five overs, we could score quickly.” With the ball, Jadeja dismissed Punjab’s topscorer Prabhsimran Singh, skipper Sam Curran and Ashutosh Sharma as Chennai, having posted 167-9, restricted Punjab to 139-9.