CWC 2019: WATCH – “He ripped me apart on all fronts”, Manjrekar hails Jadeja for proving him wrong

Manjrekar faced a lot of flak for calling Jadeja "bits and pieces" last week.

Ravindra Jadeja | Getty

Former Indian cricketer-turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar on Wednesday (July 10) hailed all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for proving him wrong with his spectacular showing in World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand at Old Trafford.

Ahead of India’s group match against Bangladesh, Manjrekar had said that Jadeja is a “bits and pieces” cricketer and he won’t pick him in the playing XI in the ongoing showpiece tournament. Subsequently, Jadeja had hit out at Manjrekar through a tweet, asking him to respect the achievement of people.

But, Jadeja converted Manjrekar him into a fan after probably playing his best ODI innings. The southpaw scored 77 off 59 balls when India were reeling at 92/6 while chasing Black Caps’ target of 240.

“Well played Jadeja!” he tweeted.

In a video posted by the ICC on Twitter, Manjrekar said: “Bits and by pieces, he just ripped me apart today. Bits and by pieces of sheer brilliance just proved me wrong on all fronts. But this is Ravindra Jadeja we have not seen very often. In the last 40 innings, his highest score has been around 33. Today, he was brilliant, economical with the ball and the familiar celebration that we see more in the Test matches.”

He was also asked where he was during the half-century celebration as Jadeja was pointing to someone.

“Forgive me, I wasn’t there. I have to apologise, he was looking for me, star of today looking for me but I wasn’t there. I was in the lounge eating my lunch,” Manjrekar answered.

Earlier, Jadeja produced a fine spell of 10-0-34-1 and affected the run-out of dangerous Ross Taylor to help India restrict the Kiwis on 239/8 in 50 overs. Unfortunately, his herculean effort with the bat went in vain as India fell 18-run short of the target.  

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 11 Jul, 2019

    Share Via