MATCH STORIES 
Follow UsChennai Super Kings’ (CSK) decision to send Ravindra Jadeja to bat in the 14th over of Match 18 against Sunrisers Hyderabad raised a few eyebrows. Among the 22 batters who have scored over 200 runs in the death overs (overs 16 to 20) since IPL 2022, Jadeja’s strike rate of 148.4 (before walking out to bat) was the lowest. The fact that batters like Daryl Mitchell, Moeen Ali and MS Dhoni were waiting in the dugout made the call even more shocking.
Jadeja scored 31 not out off 23 balls. In the last five overs, he scored only 24 off 17 balls, bringing his death-overs strike rate down another shade — from 148.4 to 147.9.
Jadeja, the death overs batter, has become a question mark. His peak years in this aspect were 2020 and 2021 when he struck at 206.7 and 185.4 respectively. However, as he has progressed as a Test batter, his batting numbers in white-ball cricket have suffered, especially when required to scored quick runs.
It was quite prominent in CSK’s last fixture — against Delhi which they lost by 20 runs. Jadeja walked in to bat in the 14th over again, with the asking rate hovering around 14.5.
The left-hander managed only 21 runs off 17 deliveries. In a 51-run stand (off 23 balls) with MS Dhoni, Jadeja contributed only 10 off seven. While Dhoni, batting in a professional cricket game after 308 days, struck wide yorkers for boundaries, Jadeja, an active cricketer, struggled to hit full tosses into the gaps. He scored only five off five full tosses dished out at him.
Against SRH, if not for Jaydev Unadkat's misfield on the last ball, Jadeja’s run count on full tosses would have been eight off four full tosses with one boundary.
Facing pacers in this phase since IPL 2022, Jadeja has under-par strike rates on most lengths. His vulnerability against back-of-a-length and short pitch deliveries stands out.
One argument in favour of Jadeja’s promotion could be the number of cutters bowled by the SRH pacers. Given they had two left-arm pacers, T Natarajan and Jaydev Unadkat, the CSK management must have thought Jadeja could hit those cutters in the on-side. But his record against slower balls aren't great either.
The SRH seamers not only kept the pace off but also bowled them into the deck, and the 35-year-old managed only eight from six short balls he faced in this fixture. The combination of the two of his biggest limitations diminished Jadeja’s potential impact.
Put in to bat, CSK scored only 165/5 in their 20 overs. It would be harsh to blame Jadeja for it. But CSK’ stop-start innings which gained momentum only during Shivam Dube’s 24-ball 45, needed a bigger finish. And Jadeja, arguably, wasn’t the right batter for that job.
FUN FACT: The second batter on the list with the lowest strike rate in the last five overs since IPL 2022 is Hardik Pandya at 155.6. These two, as things stand, are likely to be India’s designated finishers in the T20 World Cup right after the IPL.
