ICC World Cup 2023: Match-winner Jadeja key to India's title hopes

India's first match against Australia at Chepauk in Chennai was a sea of blue with a full house to cheer for the home team.

Generally, you see a sea of yellow at Chennai which is the home ground of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.

And it was CSK hero Ravindra Jadeja who made a massive impact on the match, taking three wickets for 28 runs to help India bowl out Australia for 199.

Jadeja bowls at around 90 mph and he is always so accurate that batters find him difficult to cope with on a surface like the one in Chennai on Sunday.

This is also the ground where the left-arm spinner has taken more than 100 wickets for his franchise in nine seasons.

During the innings break on Sunday, Jadeja told the host broadcaster that when he saw the wicket, he wanted to pick at least two to three wickets and he was glad that he did the same.

The ball with which he knocked off Steve Smith was a ripper. From 110/2, Australia slumped to 140/7, thanks to the brilliance of Jadeja who got also Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey.

Had it not been for Jadeja’s strikes, Australia would have scored more than 250. With India losing three quick wickets, the result of the match could have been very different.