Jadeja’s argument was that the Sri Lankan players were tired and swooping down the ground and this would be the best time to put them under pressure and force them with the bat. Throughout his career, even when he was the subject of memes and ridicule on social media, Jadeja has been an out and out team player. Their captains knew it, their teammates knew it, and it took the public a while to catch on.
As a cricketer, as a package, Jadeja is a captain’s dream. In Indian conditions, he is a lethal bowler who is just as destructive as Ravichandran Ashwin. His batting overseas is more useful to the team, but even there he is in control of the ball. At home, away and anywhere in the universe, in fact, Jadeja’s fielding is as good as it gets. He’s a fast runner, has quick anticipation, safe hands and a rocket throw.
If you have built a prototype for a slow-bowling all-rounder, you will find someone like Jadeja. Consider this: Since he thwarted his batting, and the team began to see him as a batting all-rounder and use him as such, around 2016, Jadeja scored 1,897 runs at an average of 44.11. Make it To do that batting at No. 6 or No. 7 is remarkable in itself. Add 165 wickets at 25.32 in the same period and you have a real match winner in your hands.
Once described as a player of bits and pieces, Jadeja was furious and felt his displeasure. And, when you look at those numbers and his contribution to Indian wins, you can see why. That day, Jadeja converted a good Indian position into an impenetrable one. There is no way India can lose this Test from here, no matter how much Sri Lanka tries or achieves.
It was also a return to the old-fashioned India, where you bat for a long time in the first innings and then let the spinners do the talking. India’s score was their first 500 or more since 2019 against South Africa in Pune. Jadeja scored 91 runs in that innings of 600/5 declared.
The difference between scoring a long first innings total at home shows you that India’s batsmen have struggled on spicy pitches as much as the visiting team’s batsmen.
When Jadeja bats like Mohali, two things happen. Firstly, the fielding captain is challenged in terms of fielding, as Jadeja cleverly works his angles and hits the ball in places that are unexpected for a particular delivery. He is equally likely to open the face of the bat and drive the ball to third man as it is to bring it from outside and hit midwicket.
Secondly, while he has all the big shots, he is also blessed with patience, which means he can wait for the loose ball, or cash in once the bowler wears off and at the end of his spell .
He did both to perfection that day, leaving Sri Lanka with little room to maneuver. It was cricketing prowess of the highest order backed by skills honed through years of hard work. Jadeja the Rockstar made his one-time mentor proud at Rajasthan Royals.
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