Manjrekar's jibe got Jadeja's juices flowing: shooting ace Bindra

Ravindra Jadeja caught the attention of Olympic gold-medallist former shooter Abhinav Bindra during India's World Cup semifinal clash against New Zealand and the legend felt it was criticism that got the all-rounder's "juices flowing" during his gritty knock. Bindra, a former 10m air rifle world champion and India's first and only individual Olympic gold-medallist, took to Twitter to offer his perspective on Jadeja's fighting effort of 77, which raised hopes of Indian win at one stage. India lost by 18 runs eventually.

The 36-year-old Bindra, who retired after the 2016 Olympics, felt that former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar's "bits and pieces cricketer" jibe perhaps spurred Jadeja to perform better. "@sanjaymanjrekar got Jadeja's juices flowing! I am certain it had a positive effect on his game. Sometimes a kick on one's ego can have a positive impact. #psychology #athletes," Bindra tweeted.

Jadeja had reacted quite sharply to Manjrekar's jibe, posting that he had a number of India matches under his belt. Manjrekar called a truce by tweeting "well played Jadeja" at the end of the match on Wednesday.