Smith is Jadeja’s bunny, says Shastri
Former India captain and coach Ravi Shastri said that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has Australia's Steve Smith's number in international cricket, after he dismissed the Aussie batter for the 11th time in international cricket in their World Cup encounter in Chennai on Sunday.
Jadeja bamboozled a well-set Smith, who was batting on 46, with a ball that turned sharply after pitching around middle stump to go past the batter's outside edge and clip the off stump.
After Smith's dismissal, India kept taking wickets in regular succession and eventually bundled out the Aussies for just 199 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Jadeja claimed two more wickets and finished with 3-28 in his 10 overs.
Shastri praised Jadeja for his ability to deceive batters with his unpredictable turn.
"He [Jadeja] has dismissed him [Smith] 10 to 12 times. He [Smith] is his bunny," Shastri told Star Sports.
"It is not that easy to play such a delivery because of the speed at which he bowls. As a batter, you don't know which ball is going to turn and which ball will go straight. He himself said in the interview that he doesn't know which ball will turn and which will go straight. If he doesn't know, how will the batter know? So he plays inside the line at times and outside the line on other occasions," he added.
After the match, Jadeja said that the pitch seemed like a 'typical Test match wicket' in India with plenty on offer for the spinners.
"My plan was to bowl on the stump and luckily the ball to Smith turned more. I thought this was a typical Test match wicket. We should not do any experiment and bowl stump-to-stump," Jadeja said.
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