NEW DELHI: All-format all-rounder
Ravindra Jadeja
remains without a moniker from the passionate Chennai Super Kings supporters, unlike teammate
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
-- fondly referred to as Thala (leader) and
Suresh Raina
-- 'Chinna Thala' (leader's right-hand man) respectively. However, after his match-winning performance of 3/18 in 4 overs against KKR, Jadeja believes it's time for fans to grant him the validation he deserves.
Jadeja is now the only player in IPL history with a 'treble' -- 1000 plus runs, 100 plus wickets and now 100 catches.
"My title hasn't yet been verified, hopefully they'll give me one," the jovial Jadeja said after CSK's seven-wicket win.
"I always enjoy my bowling on this track. I was hoping the ball grips a little and if you bowl in the right areas it helps you. For visiting teams, it takes time to settle in and plan," he said as KKR were restricted to a paltry 137 for 9.
"You hardly get 2-3 days, for a visiting team to come here, play and identify the surface is little difficult. We know our conditions better."
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer was in agreement that they didn't read the track properly.
"We weren't able to assess the conditions quickly after the powerplay, scoring runs wasn't easy. They (CSK) know the conditions pretty well, they bowled according to their plans," Iyer conceded.
On a track like the one that was on offer, a new batter found it extremely difficult to go on the offensive from ball one.
"It wasn't easy (for the new batters) to go after them from the first ball. We were trying to construct the innings, but it didn't fall in place according to the plan. The wicket changed after the powerplay."
"We were in a comfortable place and we thought 160-170 was a good score, but we lost momentum."
The India batter feels that there is no reason to panic after one defeat.
"We have to go back to the drawing board and got to learn from that. I am glad this happened at the start of the tournament. When we go back, we know our home conditions pretty well. We need to analyse the situations and need to make the best use of it."
(With inputs from PTI)
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