By bits and pieces he ripped me apart: Jadeja's fabulous play makes Sanjay Manjrekar take a U-turn

The blow of Team India's 18-run defeat in the World Cup semi-final against New Zealand was softened a little by MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja 116-run partnership.

Jadeja, who has only played two matches in the tournament, scored 77 runs off 59 balls at a strike rate of 130.50 raising fans' spirits in what had till then been a heartbreaking game. The all-rounder hit 4 fours and sixes during his 84 minutes at the crease, before his dismissal in the 48th over.

The 30-year-old's fabulous play won many hearts and led to an outpour of appreciation on social media. Former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar, who had earlier called Jadeja a 'bits and pieces cricketer', was also blown away by his performance.


In a video posted on the Twitter handle of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Manjrekar said, "By bits and pieces he just ripped me apart By bits and pieces he just ripped me apart today. By bits and pieces of sheer brilliance he proved me wrong on all fronts. This is Ravindra Jadeja that we have not seen very often."


On his own Twitter handle, Manjrekar wrote, "Well played Jadeja".


On July 3, just a week before the big India Vs New Zealand match at Old Trafford, Jadeja had taken to Twitter to slam the commentator's comment on him. "I have played twice the number of matches you have played and I'm still playing. Learn to respect ppl who have achieved. I have heard enough of your verbal diarrhoea," Jadeja had tweeted.


He had also received massive support from Twitterati, with actor Siddhart saying, "If you're a bits and pieces cricketer, I hope to be a bits and pieces actor someday man. #FullPower #speakyourmind"


While several others had lauded the cricketer for speaking up.