Jaydev Unadkat played a key role with the bat and ball as Rajasthan Royals (RR) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by three wickets in the seventh match of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (April 15).
The left-arm pacer returned with the figures of 3/15 in his four overs, helping RR to restrict DC to 147/8 while he scored 11 not out off 7 balls to guide the team home.
Unadkat ably supported Chris Morris in the chase when Royals needed 42 runs in the last four overs. He smashed a six in his knock whereas Morris slammed 36 off 18 balls with 4 sixes to take the side over the line with two balls to spare.
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Reflecting on the last few overs, Unadkat said he and Morris kept things simple and stayed calm in the middle.
"We were trying to keep it simple and calm out in the middle. When you are in a pressure situation, at times, you lose your mind and start thinking ahead of the ball. We were both talking to each other, telling each other to watch the ball nicely and just go for it. He (Morris) couldn't middle the first few balls. I kept telling him, it is just about one hit," Unadkat said at the virtual post-match press conference.
While replying to an ANI query, he added: "The ball was coming on to the bat nicely. The way he (Morris) was swinging it, we were confident that we were a couple of hits away. That's what we were talking about in the middle, that we are just two hits away from getting the game in our pockets. It was amazing hitting by Morris. The sixes that he hit of Kagiso (Rabada) were probably some of the best shots today."
Commenting on young Chetan Sakariya's performance, Unadkat said, "Very very happy, he has come a long way from bowling for Saurashtra making his debut three-four years back. I have seen him grow as a cricketer. He is someone who puts his body on the line and gives more than 100 per cent every time on the field.
"You need such players in your team who can contribute in more than one way. He is someone who actually feels the game and I'm very happy with the way he started his IPL career."
DC’s top-three batsmen – Prithvi Shaw (2), Shikhar Dhawan (0) and Ajinkya Rahane (8) – were the victims of Unadkat.
He was particularly pleased by dismissing Shaw early as the right-handed opener looked in terrific touch during DC’s opening game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) a few days ago.
"Field placements are something which we talk about a lot in our bowler meetings as well. We had a couple of plans in place for Prithvi (Shaw). He played really well last game, and he tries to hit it down the ground a lot. And if we have protection down there, the batsman will obviously try and do something new, be it Prithvi or anyone else," Unadkat said.
"If the ball is doing something, then you will go out of your way and try to play a shot. That is what Prithvi eventually did. Lucky to get his wicket in that over itself," he added.
"It is always about that one game. It has been about 8-10 years since I have been playing the IPL. I knew that when my opportunity will come, I'll have to be right up there in terms of performance. Happy to have contributed today," Unadkat continued.
"We needed this win as a team after losing the first game close up. It is always good to come out on the winning side in such close games. It gives a lot of confidence to the team. It gives you that much-required momentum in this format. I was able to execute what I wanted to do," he concluded.
Rajasthan Royals will take on Chennai Super Kings in their next game on Monday (April 19).
(With ANI inputs)
