Ravindra Jadeja's Inclusion in Team India Was a Smart Move: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar praised Ravindra Jadeja for his precise bowling and how his selection in the end turned out to be crucial to India's win.
Praising India's outright win over South Africa in Mohali, former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar said that the hosts should be able to draw a lot of confidence with the win.(Match Report | Scorecard | Highlights)
On an extraordinary third day on Saturday, when spinners from both sides wreaked havoc, Ravindra Jadeja led India's charge by picking up 5 for 21 to help India win by 108 runs.
First innings hero Ravichandran Ashwin's 3 for 39 only helped the South African downfall.
Virat Kohli tossed the ball to Jadeja, who struck in his opening over itself, removing Vernon Philander for one.
"Decision to open the bowling with (Ravindra) Jadeja was good one. He bowls a good line and with a flatter trajectory, so giving him the new ball was a good decision," Gavaskar told NDTV.
Gavaskar also termed Jadeja's selection by the team management as a smart move.
"It was a sensible decision. He was hitting the deck and not just flighting the ball like Ashwin. He hit the right line and length and was rewarded," he added.
Gavaskar believes that win against South African would be particularly sweet considering the fact it came against world number one team.
"Any win is a big win but to win against World's No 1 team is always special," said Gavaskar.
The 66-year-old declined to write-off the Proteas but suggested that the visitors would need to rejig their batting order in order to do well.
"I won't write off South Africa just yet. The loss is certainly should be a big blow for them, but I'm sure they will take this time off to work on their game," said Gavaskar.
"However they need to consider their batting order a bit. AB de Villiers is batting too low at No 5. Rather he should be at No 4 and Faf du Plessis should be at No 5," he added.
When quizzed about the match ending in three days being bad advertisement for Test matches, Gavaskar said: "Getting a result in a Test match is actually a good advertisement. The host Association, the TV, the fans would want the match to go to the fifth day. But it not that it is happening in India only. In Australia also the matches finish early."