Ravindra Jadeja won the biggest individual honour after India’s series win. The 36-year-old Ravindra Jadeja man of the series award, beating the young Kuldeep Yadav. This surprised many who expected Kuldeep to win it after taking 12 wickets.
Kuldeep’s 12 wickets looked like an easy choice for the trophy initially. Yet Jadeja’s all-round game swung things his way eventually. He bagged 8 wickets while chipping in 104 runs across both matches.
Why Jadeja Beat Kuldeep
Ravindra Jadeja man of the series, came down to complete performances. Kuldeep bowled brilliantly but offered nothing with the bat. Jadeja rescued India multiple times, batting lower down the order crucially.
His bowling spells broke partnerships when the West Indies threatened comebacks regularly. Ravindra Jadeja winning man of the series made sense looking at match situations. Age means nothing when you deliver like he does currently.
Also Read: India Beat West Indies by 7 Wickets
Ashwin’s Exit Helped Him
Jadeja credited Ashwin’s retirement for giving him longer spells now. He doesn’t share bowling duties with another quality spinner anymore here. This freedom helped Jaddu bowl his natural game without restrictions.
“I could get a chance to bowl more overs (after Ashwin’s retirement). But yeah, all in all, we’ve been doing wonderful work as a team, in terms of batting and bowling. I think we know what brand of cricket we’ve been playing over the last five or six months. So that’s a good sign as a team, that we continue to do it over a long period of time,” Jadeja said.
India whitewashed with 2-0 with a 7-wicket win today. West Indies scored 390 in their second innings, fighting harder than in the first innings. John Campbell and Shai Hope both scored tons, pushing India properly.
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Kuldeep still won the player of the match for his 5-wicket haul. His first innings spell demolished the West Indies for just 248 runs. But this awards value consistency over single performances always.
Jadeja has now won this award three times in total. Shubman Gill’s first win as captain ended perfectly with this result.
