Cricketers tend to mature in different ways. Some awaken from the imperceptible slackening after a poor season, while others realise their trapped potential a bit later on in their career.
At 12:24 PM on Friday, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Ravindra Jadeja walked in after Shreyas Iyer fell, with India still trailing by 23 runs in reply to England’s first-innings total of 246 in the first Test. Jadeja, at No. 6, joined KL Rahul, who was batting like a well-oiled machine.
Generally, all-rounders bat instinctively; playing a high-risk shot is in their genes. But, this time, the script was going to be vastly different. Rehan tempted Jadeja with a tossed-up delivery, only to watch the southpaw take a big stride forward and defend it right under his bat. Jadeja could have dispatched the following five deliveries to the boundaries, but instead got off the mark with a clip behind square for a single.
While Rahul went after the bowling, smoking a couple of sixes, to secure India the lead, Jadeja resisted the temptation of taking the aerial route. Root bowled a juicy full toss, and Jadeja preferred to play down the ground, through mid-on, as the ball raced through the green carpet for a boundary. It was a conscious effort not to hit the ball in the air, and this was Jadeja, the batsman, not the all-rounder, who was negotiating with a rather spineless England attack.
For the next hour and a half, Jadeja, in the company of Srikar Bharat, rotated the strike and kept the scoreboard moving — mostly by banking on quick running between the wickets and only dispatching the leather to the boundary when left with no choice.
The determination to bat long was clear, as Jadeja scored his first 45 runs off 68 balls before the tea break and reached his half-century in 84 balls, spending 134 minutes at the wicket, taking 15 singles, one two, and running three once. Post tea break, Jadeja scored 36 runs off 87 deliveries, staying guard at the wicket despite having the licence to go for the big shots.
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Jadeja’s appetite for runs is well documented in First-Class cricket - the all-rounder has 12 centuries to his name and is the first Indian batsman to hit three triple centuries. In the India set-up, Jadeja used to bat at No. 8, which limited his opportunities as a batsman. But there has been a shift in mindset and his batting approach since being promoted to the No.6 spot.
At No. 8, Jadeja’s primary objective was to go after the bowling when the team eyes an early declaration or when the opposition tries to wrap up the tail. There was a sense of urgency that didn’t allow the batsman in Jadeja to flourish.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja play a shot during the 1st Test Match between India and England. | Photo Credit: KVS GIRI
But in the past six years, India has benefited with Jadeja walking in at No. 6, especially at home, although he has scored more runs (1032), batting at No. 7, where he registered his highest Test score of an unbeaten 175.
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Jadeja discovering his batting prowess and putting a price on his wicket has given India the cushion to play another spinner at home.
Until 2018, in 59 innings, Jadeja scored 1404 runs at an average of 31.20 with nine half-centuries and a hundred. Post 2018, in 41 innings, Jadeja has scored 1473 runs at an average of 44.64 with 11 half-centuries and two centuries.
At the end of Day 2, Jadeja was batting on 81 when a tired and clueless Hartley marked his run-up to bowl the final over the day. Hartley started with a tossed-up delivery and all that Jadeja did was block, again a block, and then worked through the mid-wicket for a single as Axar Patel hammered the spinner for a boundary, a six and ended the day’s play with a boundary.
Jadeja tucked his bat under his shoulder, content with his knock. There was a fourth Test century on the horizon, and the crowd flocked in on Saturday morning, hoping for another sword-twirling celebration, but Jadeja could only add six runs to his overnight score as Root trapped him. There were no fireworks with the bat or batting pyrotechnics, which dramatically changed the complexion of the game. It’s just that his 87 off 180 balls simply took the game away from England.
Jadeja, the bowling all-rounder, has once again played an innings that has stood head and shoulders above the rest.
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