Virat Kohli terms Ravindra Jadeja as a 'rare talent'

Indian skipper Virat Kohli showered praise on all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for his ability to chip in with both the ball and the bat when needed. Jadeja contributed with the bat down the order in the Indian inning by scoring 70 odd runs which helped them post a staggering total of 622 runs on the board. He was equally brilliant with the ball in hand as he picked up 7 wickets in the Test including a five wicket haul.

As India clinched the series with a game left to play, Ravindra Jadeja was handed the Man of the Match award. With his brilliant performance, the Saurashtra bowler justified his position as the number 1 bowler in Tests. Virat Kohli mentioned that cricketers like Jadeja are extremely hard to find.

What Virat said:

“Guys who have both abilities are very rare to find. That’s where we think they’re very precious, specially in the longer format because they provide you with great balance,” Kohli told reporters.

“He can give you a very quick 60-70 anywhere at any stage and it can really turn the game… He’s always in the game. I would say he’s a very valuable cricketer for us.”

Sri Lanka’s batting performance in the first innings went all wrong as they were bundled out for a mere 183 runs, which was 439 runs short of the Indian total. After being asked to follow on Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne started a revival act and played two lion-hearted knocks to put up a fight. Though both the batsmen completed their centuries the Sri Lankans got bundled out for a score of 386 which was still 53 runs less than the Indian total.

“Today we said even if we don’t get wickets early on we are going to enjoy these tough times as well, because they really improve you as a side,” said Kohli.

“Success will come your way but you need patience. Very happy that we went through the difficult phases as well and you never get complacent as a side then.”