"My Player of the Match would have been Ravindra Jadeja" - Aakash Chopra lauds all-rounder's performance in India's 2023 World Cup win vs South Africa
Aakash Chopra believes Ravindra Jadeja should have been chosen as the Player of the Match in India's 2023 World Cup league-stage win against South Africa.
Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 101 off 121 deliveries as the Men in Blue set the Proteas a 327-run target in Kolkata on Sunday, November 5. Jadeja scored an unbeaten 15-ball 29, then registered figures of 5/33 in nine overs as the two-time champions bundled out Temba Bavuma and company for 83 to complete an emphatic 243-run win.
Reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Jadeja should have been awarded the Player of the Match instead of Kohli. He reasoned (2:55):
"Ravindra Jadeja - take a bow Jadeja. He picked up three wickets in Chennai and five wickets here. Jaddu's specialty is that if you give him a pitch to his liking, he has the potential to run through a side. He has the bowling ability to demolish the opposition."
The former India opener added:
"If I had the option to choose the Player of the Match, my Player of the Match would have been Ravindra Jadeja for the simple reason that if you see this tournament, you get an idea of the number of centuries that have been scored and how many five-wicket hauls have been taken. Five-wicket hauls are extremely rare."
Jadeja became just the second Indian spinner to pick up a five-wicket haul in a World Cup game. Yuvraj Singh was the first one to achieve the milestone, having registered figures of 5/31 against Ireland in Bengaluru in the 2011 edition of the tournament.
"That did make a difference in the end" - Aakash Chopra on Ravindra Jadeja and Suryakumar Yadav's cameos
![Ravindra Jadeja struck three fours and a six during his unbeaten 29-run effort. [P/C: AP]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/11/e5303-16992423985255-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Ravindra Jadeja played a crucial cameo with the bat as well, and so did Suryakumar Yadav before him. He elaborated (6:00):
"Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja's short knocks - that did make a difference in the end. If we look at the last 10 overs, Virat Kohli scored 26 runs in that and India scored close to 90. So the rest of the runs were scored by Jaddu and Surya, I think 51."
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the southpaw's innings ensured that India reached a formidable total. He explained:
"The balls were almost equal, I think Kohli scored 26 runs off 26 balls but fours and sixes were hit from the other end. The finish Jadeja gave took the total to 326, which of course was too much."
Suryakumar smashed 22 runs off 14 balls in his 36-run fifth-wicket partnership with Virat Kohli. Jadeja contributed 29 runs in his unbroken 41-run sixth-wicket partnership with the centurion.