Jaydev Unadkat: I'd like the freedom to bowl with the new ball | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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Jaydev Unadkat: I'd like the freedom to bowl with the new ball

Apr 17, 2021 06:47 AM IST

Unadkat has always been at the top of his game in domestic cricket. He holds the record for most wickets (67 in 2019-20) by a pacer in a single Ranji Trophy.

IPL 2020 was a disaster for Jaydev Unadkat. Brought on board by Rajasthan Royals for a healthy price of 3 crore, the left-arm pacer’s numbers read four wickets in seven games with an economy of 9.91 at the end of the season.

Jaydev Unadkat of Rajasthan Royals celebrates the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan of Delhi Capitals during Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Thursday, April 15, 2021. (PTI)
Jaydev Unadkat of Rajasthan Royals celebrates the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan of Delhi Capitals during Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Thursday, April 15, 2021. (PTI)

“It is always about that one game,” Unadkat said on Thursday, after the match against Delhi Capitals in Mumbai. That game never came last year. This season, however, the Saurashtra captain believes he has found that touch after an evening of cunning bowling, one that fetched him his best IPL figures - 3/15 - since 2018.

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Unadkat has always been at the top of his game in domestic cricket. He holds the record for most wickets (67 in 2019-20) by a pacer in a single Ranji Trophy. That season, the 29-year-old also led Saurashtra to the title. It was not an exception for Unadkat though to achieve such domestic cricket glory.

He has always been the workhorse that an Indian pacer needs to be successful on some tough surfaces. He has honed that skill over the years with a clever mind to surprise the batsman with a change of pace. It has also reflected in the high auction prices that he has garnered in the IPL over the years. He is also one of the few pacers to play for five different franchises in the IPL. He has played in all formats for India but never succeeded to make a mark. Each time it looked like Unadkat has finally arrived on the big stage, he flattered to deceive. The reasons were varied – ranging from injury to inconsistency to sheer poor luck.

Even in IPL 2020, his lean patch meant teenage pace sensation Kartik Tyagi was Rajasthan’s No. 1 choice for a domestic pacer. Unadkat could not find a place in the first game for RR this season against Punjab Kings. But once he got a chance against Delhi on Thursday, Unadkat made an instant impact in his first over with the wicket of opener Prithvi Shaw, who edged one to David Miller at midwicket.

“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. 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. 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,” Unadkat said.

Shaw’s wicket came off a slower ball from Unadkat. “If you see the stats, I think I only bowled about four or five change-of-pace deliveries. It was the wickets I got, that’s why it seemed like I bowled more (slower balls), but it was about hitting the hard lengths today. The ball was doing a bit. It was seaming. There was moisture, and I made use of it today. So the good lengths were working,” Unadkat said.

Unadkat also took the wickets of Delhi’s other opener Shikhar Dhawan and No. 3 Ajinkya Rahane to have them reeling at 36/3 in the Powerplay. All of them came via slower balls. Unadkat’s burst ensured Delhi could only put up 147/8 in 20 overs. The pacer contributed with the bat too as he scored 11* off seven balls in an unbeaten stand with Chris Morris to take Rajasthan home in the last over.

“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. 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 said.

But Unadkat has floundered in the IPL and on the international stage after starting well. He knows it and understands he still has much work to do.

“I think I have a lot of experience now. This was kind of a homecoming for me. I would like to bowl with the freedom I got with the new ball, something I couldn’t do last season. This time, I didn’t get the first game; so I knew when the chances came, I’d have to take them,” Unadkat said.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Abhishek Paul works with the Hindustan Times’ sports desk. He has been covering the beat since 2010 across print and digital mediums.

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