NEW DELHI: Former India ODI captain
Ajay Jadeja
felt that there weren't many demons on the 22-yard strip, despite
Virat Kohli
's assessment that the Jaipur track was two-paced and made strokeplay challenging.
However, RCB could only muster 183/3 in 20 overs, a total that was eclipsed by Rajasthan Royals with five balls remaining thanks to
Jos Buttler
's 58-ball ton. Kohli struck an undefeated 113 off 72 balls with 12 fours and 4 sixes.
Astute cricket observer Jadeja sensed a possible contradiction between
Kohli
's observations and the pitch's overall performance during the entire game.
"He (Kohli) started out so well. He hit a couple of boundaries in the first few overs, and you knew you were watching something special tonight. The only surprising thing was him speaking about how the deliveries were not carrying through on this pitch, but the way he batted, we didn't see any shortcomings in the pitch," Jadeja, a 'Jio Cinema' IPL expert said.
After scoring his eighth IPL hundred, Kohli had said the pitch was not a flat one.
"The wicket looks quite different from the outside. It feels like it's flat, but the ball is holding up in the pitch, that's when you realise the pace changes," Kohli told the official broadcaster on Saturday evening.
It is Kohli's shot-making that convinced Jadeja to believe there were no shortcomings in the surface.
"In terms of his shot-making, no corner of the ground was left where he didn't smash the ball. What he said made us think something might be wrong with the pitch, but the way he played, there wasn't a single shortcoming that could be seen."
Shane Watson
, another specialist on Jio Cinema, believes that
Sanju Samson
's breakthrough season may eventually arrive in the 17th IPL season.
"He showed intent from ball one in his own cool, calm, collected way. A 130 strike rate in the first 10 balls means you're not just trying to get ones. You're waiting for a loose ball and he did put it away straight away and because of the skill he's got, he's playing the ball on its merit," Watson said.
"If a bowler bowls a slightly loose ball, because of all the shot options that Sanju Samson has got, he scores very freely. You can see the calmness in him, and he continues to do that game after game, there's no reason he can't have a very successful tournament.
"I'm actually predicting he'll have a long and successful IPL with the bat this year," the former CSK and Royals star said.
(With PTI inputs)
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