Jadeja’s art of rescuing India with half centuries
DHARAMSALA: Ravindra Jadeja has rescued India by playing some attacking innings in Test matches. On Day 3, he smashed his seventh fifty and shared a 96-run stand for the seventh wicket with Wriddhiman Saha as India took a vital lead against Australia.
The left-hander survived a testing period from Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins but hung in as he helped India erase the deficit. Mixing caution and aggression, he helped the team erase the deficit on an important day in the deciding Test. His knock of 63, which included four fours and four sixes, was not the first time that Jadeja has turned the course of the match with an attacking 50.
It drew comparisons with his effort in the Lord’s Test against England when he helped India break the overseas jinx in style. England had taken a vital 24-run lead in helpful conditions for the bowlers and in response, India were 235/7 and still not out of danger. Jadeja turned the game on it’s head and shared a 99-run stand for the eighth wicket with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who stroked a vital fifty. The efforts of Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar helped India set a target in excess of 300 and India finally broke their overseas losing streak with a 95-run win, their first win in Lord’s after 28 years.
At the start of India’s 2016/17 season, India took on New Zealand in the first Test at Kanpur. The hosts were on top as Jadeja’s haul of 5/73 helped India take a 49-run lead. He then hurt Kane Williamson’s team further by slamming a 58-ball 50 after fifites earlier from Murali Vijay (76) and Cheteshwar Pujara (78). India set New Zealand a target of 434 runs but the visitors capitulated to a 197-run loss.
Against England at home, in the third Test in Mohali, India were in a tricky situation at 204/7 in response to England’s 283. Jadeja turned the tables by stitching partnerships with the tail and taking India to safety.
In the final Test in Chennai, Jadeja was the one-man army. After England were decimated by KL Rahul’s 199 and Karun Nair’s historic triple ton, Jadeja demoralised England with a 55-ball 51. His 138-run stand with Karun ensured that India finished on 754/7 decl, their highestever total in Tests.