Australian allrounder Ashton Agar reserved rich praise for his Indian counterpart Ravindra Jadeja following his heroics in the first T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg, Cricbuzz reports. Australia hammered the hosts by a massive margin of 107 runs in a lopsided T20I and Agar came up with a man of the match performance that saw him pick up a hat-trick as well.
The left-hander first chipped in with an unbeaten 20 off just 9 deliveries to help Australia post 196 on the board and in reply, he spun a web around a South African outfit that was already reeling at 42/4 when he came into the attack. Agar picked up the wickets of Faf du Plessis, Andile Phehlukwayo and Dale Steyn in his very first over to further reduce South Africa to 44/7. In the process, he became just the second Australian bowler after Brett Lee to pick up a hat-trick in this format.
Agar went on to add more scalps to finish with figures of 5 for 24 as South Africa were bowled out for a meagre 89 with 33 balls left to spare. Post the game, Agar spoke about the influence Jadeja has had on his game recently especially after Australia's recent tour of India. "I had a wonderful chat with Ravindra Jadeja after the Indian series," Agar said. "He's my favourite player in the world. I want to play cricket like he does. He's an absolute rock star."
Jadeja's ability to contribute in all facets of the game is impressive and inspiring, according to Agar, who is trying to re-establish himself in the Australian set-up after a memorable debut in the 2013 Ashes. "He, like, smacks 'em, he's a gun fielder and he spins the ball," he observed.
