Kevin Pietersen, a former England captain, has slammed the criticism of Ravindra Jadeja after CSK’s loss to LSG on Tuesday. Pietersen believes that Jadeja is an ‘absolute star’ and that people should leave him alone. His comments come after Jadeja struggled with both bat and ball in the match, scoring only 16 runs and conceding 16 runs without taking a wicket.
Pietersen defended Jadeja by crediting Marcus Stoinis for his match-winning innings, saying that CSK did everything they could but were beaten by a great performance from Stoinis.
“You’re 100% right. Also, what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to give credit to Marcus Stoinis,” Pietersen said on Star Sports.
“Chennai did everything right. Last night, they got beaten by Marcus Stoinis. It was him in a stand alone scoring one of the great hundreds of the IPL. So forget pointing your fingers. You cannot point a finger at Ravindra Jadeja like I am not having it at all.”
“Absolutely not. That guy is an absolute star. He’s one of the first picks for India. I mean, what he’s done in the IPL for India. Leave the guy alone. Stoinis beat the Yellow Army yesterday,” said Pietersen.
LSG, led by Stoinis’ outstanding performance, chased down a formidable target of 211 runs set by CSK. Stoinis played a pivotal role, scoring an unbeaten 124 from just 63 deliveries, which included a spectacular array of boundaries and sixes. His innings not only guided LSG to a six-wicket win but also marked the highest individual score in an IPL run chase.
Earlier in the game, CSK had posted a strong total of 210/4, thanks to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten 108 and Shivam Dube’s rapid half-century. However, Stoinis’ exceptional knock overshadowed their efforts and led LSG to a historic win, boosting their position in the league standings.
