Bridgetown: The tradition of awarding the best fielder of the match in the dressing room continued, as star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja won the medal for his outstanding fielding efforts, after the victory over Afghanistan in India’s first match in the Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup.
It was a memorable moment for Jadeja as he received the medal from head coach Rahul Dravid. The elite all-rounder was overjoyed and even lifted Dravid after winning the prized medal.
Jadeja took three incredible catches of Afghanistan batters Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan to win his first medal of the tournament while defeating Rishabh Pant, Arshdeep Singh, and Axar Patel for the prestigious award.
He also had a nice conversation with Mohammed Siraj, describing the pacer as the best fielder ever and his inspiration. Siraj has already claimed two Best Fielder medals, and Pant has also received one.
Coming to the match, India had Suryakumar Yadav to thank for a 47-run win against Afghanistan as they got the Group 1 action going in the Super Eights in Bridgetown.
After ten overs, India were 79/3, having lost Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Virat Kohli. But Suryakumar Yadav’s partnership with Hardik Pandya put them back on track, taking them a good first-innings score of 181/8.
In response, Afghanistan was bowled out for 134. India’s bowling was led by Jasprit Bumrah, who picked three wickets for a mere 7 runs. Arshdeep Singh also picked three wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav grabbed 2.
Rohit Sharma’s side cruised through relatively comfortably from Group A but played all of their matches in the USA and knew they needed to adjust quickly to the change of conditions in a game that may well define their Super Eight campaign.