Representing Rajasthan Royals, Ravindra Jadeja has not always bowled his full quota of overs due to various factors this IPL season, but the veteran all-rounder has no qualms about it, saying he “leaves his ego in the hotel room before coming to the ground.” Jadeja delivered an all-round performance to help his side secure a convincing 40-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL clash on Wednesday. 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 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.
“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.” Jadeja remained unbeaten after giving his team’s total a semblance of respectability, having played the waiting game with the LSG pacers making good use of the surface at the Ekana Stadium.
Elaborating on his batting approach, Jadeja said, “When I was batting, it wasn’t that easy. LSG have quality fast bowlers, who were bowling with pace and in good areas. It was a red-soil surface, so there was bounce, and they were getting the ball to seam.
