There are special batsmen and bowlers, but the Cricket World Cup 2019 will also be remembered for a special 12th man — Ravindra Jadeja. The India all-rounder did not make it to the playing XI in any of the fixtures so far, but his electric fielding as a substitute turned heads.
Two out of the four catches that Jadeja took were game-changers. He took his third catch — Jason Roy off a Kuldeep Yadav googly — during India’s high-profile match against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday.
Fielding at long-on, he ran to his left and dived forward in lightning speed to pluck the offering inches from the ground.
Roy (66 off 57; 4x7, 6x2) and Jonny Bairstow (111 off 109; 4x10, 6x6) stitched a 160-run opening partnership in 22.1 overs. India was desperately looking for a wicket to bounce back when Jadeja stunned Roy with his acrobatics.
Towards the end of England's innings, he caught Ben Stokes off Jasprit Bumrah at fine leg.
The 30-year-old — who bowls slow left-arm and bats down the order — has been making regular appearances on the field since the Australia game at the Oval, when he came in for Shikhar Dhawan.
He had taken a stellar catch to help India get rid of Glenn Maxwell, who smashed a 14-ball 28 comprising five boundaries. The right-hander lost his timing in an attempt to slog-sweep leggie Yuzvendra Chahal. While the ball was in the air, Jadeja started sprinting from deep mid-wicket to eventually dive and hold on to the cherry.
Jadeja also caught Adam Zampa off Bhuvneshwar Kumar at deep mid-wicket.
He is turning out to be the super-sub of international cricket.
While commentating on Star Sports during the tournament, former Australia captain Michael Clarke had praised Jadeja for his fielding skills. “I think there’s no one better than him in world cricket, whether saving runs in the outfield or taking a difficult catch or direct hits, he’s just superb.”
In 151 ODIs for India, Jadeja has taken 53 catches.
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