Jadeja doesn’t want to think far ahead
Nagpur, Nov. 24: India are most likely to field only one spinner in the Test matches in South Africa but leftarm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is not worried if he would be able to get that spot by beating Ravichandran Ashwin. Jadeja (3/51) along with Ashwin (4/67) played a major role in bowling out Sri Lanka for just 205 on the first day of the second Test. When asked if he was the captain, then who he would have chosen between him and Ashwin in the playing XI for South Africa Tests, the jovial Jadeja replied: “Yeh bhi koi puchne ki baat hain (Is this a question that you even need to ask?),” his reply had everyone laughing. “If I am the captain, I will not even give the ball to anyone (laughs). I will keep bowling from one end.” Then on a serious note, he said: “It all depends on team’s balance and what it wants. At times on overseas tours, we assess if there are more left-handers or righthanders in the opposition and accordingly, the team’s composition is set.”
Aware that one among him, Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav will feature in the playing XI, Jadeja said that he can only control thing which is in his hands.
“I can only control the controllable. When I get an opportunity, I will try to do well. What is not in my control, there is no point thinking about it. When I get a chance to play in South Africa, I will try to do well.
“When I got a chance the last time, I played the second Test after Ashwin played the first. That’s why I said that team’s combination will depend on composition of the opposition.”
Jadeja was satisfied that he could bowl disciplined line on a strip where there was not much help for bowlers. the — PTI Nagpur, Nov. 24: Sri Lanka coach Nic Pothas on Friday clarified that there were “no demons” in the VCA stadium track and rued the manner in which six of his batsmen got out to straight deliveries on the first day of the second Test against India here.
“The wicket has got no demons. It hasn’t spun, it hasn’t seamed. There were six straight ball dismissals. At the international level it’s no surprise that Ravindra Jadeja bowls straight balls. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja got wickets bowling stump to stump.
“At this level, you can’t be missing straight balls,” Pothas said.
Pothas said that at best, the ball was skidding at the Jamtha strip.
“In the last series, the wickets spun. You are talking of the two top spinners (Ashwin and Jadeja) of the world. It was a different kettle of fish. Here the wicket didn’t do anything. All what it has done was to skid on a bit. On a wicket that hasn’t done much, we lost seven wickets to spin. It is a disappointing change room as the guys have set themselves high standards. They are going to be disappointed. In any process, you are going to have those disappointments.”
Pothas conceded that the timing of skipper Dinesh Chandimal’s decision to play a reverse sweep to Ashwin was “not the best”. “The captain made a decision at that point of time. We empower the batsmen to make decisions in the middle. He (Chandimal) obviously felt that (reverse sweep) was the way to score runs at that point.”
— PTI