5 times Ravindra Jadeja won the Player of the Match award for his bowling alone in ODI cricket
Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja turns 34 today. He is currently recuperating from a knee injury he sustained during the 2022 Asia Cup, as a result of which he was ruled out of the ongoing Bangladesh ODI series.
Jadeja will be an integral part of India's plans for the upcoming home World Cup, although he has suffered a few injury setbacks of late. The left-arm spinner's white-ball bowling has rightly come under some criticism over the last few years, but he has proven to be a match-winner with the ball across formats.
Jadeja has claimed 21 Player of the Match awards in international cricket, with eight of them coming in matches where he was not required to bat. In this article, we take a look at the five ODIs in which he achieved this feat, in chronological order.
#5 4/32, 3rd ODI vs Sri Lanka, 2009
The first Player of the Match award Ravindra Jadeja claimed in international cricket was in an ODI against Sri Lanka back in 2009. Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 96 helped the Men in Blue register a seven-wicket win, but Jadeja walked away with the accolade.
The fresh-faced youngster scalped four wickets to restrict the hosts to 239 in the first innings. He provided an important breakthrough by dismissing Upul Tharanga for 73 before returning to prise out three more lower-order wickets. The left-arm spinner was the only Indian bowler to complete his quota of 10 overs.
#4 5/36, Champions Trophy vs West Indies, 2013
Ravindra Jadeja enjoyed a productive campaign in India's run to the 2013 Champions Trophy final, in which he was the Player of the Match for his all-round showing. The dynamic cricketer was also the man of the moment in a group-stage game against the West Indies at The Oval.
Jadeja recorded his only ODI five-fer to date, returning figures of 5/36 as the Windies labored to 233/9 in their 50 overs. A hundred from Shikhar Dhawan, along with fifties from Dinesh Karthik and Rohit Sharma, helped India pull off a thumping eight-wicket win with more than 10 overs to spare.
#3 4/30, Asia Cup vs Afghanistan, 2014
The 2014 Asia Cup, played in the ODI format, saw India endure a disappointing campaign as they failed to make the final. However, Jadeja made his mark in a contest against Afghanistan.
The all-rounder picked up four wickets while giving away just 30 runs as the Afghans were skittled for 159. India were never in trouble during the chase, with the openers putting on a 121-run stand en route to an eight-wicket win.
#2 4/29, Asia Cup vs Bangladesh, 2018
Four years later, Jadeja dished out another memorable Asia Cup performance, this time against Bangladesh. In the 2018 edition, which India won, he registered figures of 4/29 on his return to the ODI side to walk away with another Player of the Match award.
Jadeja broke the back of the Tigers' middle order as Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed three scalps apiece. Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 83 sealed a comfortable seven-wicket win for the Men in Blue.
#1 4/34, 5th ODI vs West Indies, 2018
Ravindra Jadeja hasn't been adjudged the Player of the Match in an ODI since 2018, when he achieved the feat against the West Indies. His match returns of 4/34 helped Virat Kohli's men bowl out the Windies for just 104, a score India chased down for the loss of just one wicket.
Jadeja sent back Marlon Samuels and Shimron Hetmyer before polishing off the tail as he had support from all the other Indian bowlers. Rohit remained unbeaten in yet another chase, essaying an attacking 63 to overcome Dhawan's early dismissal.