Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Ravindra Jadeja made a sensational comeback to the Indian team after a long injury layoff. On his return, Jadeja got figures of 5 for 47 as India dominated Australia on the opening day of the first Test in Nagpur.
Jadeja made his return in stunning fashion to wreak havoc on Australia (Courtesy: AP)
By Rajarshi Gupta: Ravindra Jadeja last played for India in August last year in a T20I against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup. And then began a long period of recovery as he underwent knee surgery to get back on the field.
On Thursday, Ravindra Jadeja destroyed Australia with his 11th five-wicket in Test cricket and the 4th against the Aussies. Jadeja had last played a Test match in Birmingham in July but he did not look like he was away for so long.
Ravindra Jadeja missed the T20 World Cup in Australia, the Test series in Bangladesh and several bilateral series and there were moments when the Indian cricket fraternity started to fret over the prospects of his availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Towards the end of January, Ravindra Jadeja was declared fit enough to take the field for Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy match against Tamil Nadu and there was finally a sigh of relief. Jadeja bowled 41.1 overs in the match, took 8 wickets and spent time at the crease with the bat to convince the Indian team he was ready for the Test series against Australia.
Before the first Test, Ravindra Jadeja told BCCI.tv it was “weird” on his first day back in professional cricket after a frustrating period of recovery.
“When I went to the ground on the first day, it felt weird,” Jadeja told BCCI.tv. “I hadn’t felt the sun for about five months because I was training indoors and in the gym. I wondered if my body would sustain 90 overs out in the sun on the first day.”
However, that tuning is exactly what Ravindra Jadeja needed for the crucial Test series against Australia.
After Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj rattled the Aussies with the quick wickets of David Warner and Usman Khawaja. Promptly, Rohit Sharma brought Ravindra Jadeja into the attack ahead of Axar Patel and R Ashwin on a Nagpur pitch which has captured the imagination of the Australian media.
Jadeja bowled 9 tight overs as Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith responded with a solid partnership. There were moments when you could see how dangerous Jadeja could be in India, but without any demons on the surface, both Australia batters were able to get into the groove.
At that stage, you could have wondered if R Ashwin should have bowled earlier at Smith and Labuschagne, especially because Australia had been rocked by the pacers. But the Jadeja move would soon pay off.
Immediately after lunch, Ravindra Jadeja stunned Australia – theirs was a happy dressing-room at lunch, having seen off 32 overs from the Indian attack. But in the space of two balls, Jadeja turned things around for the hosts.
First, Jadeja lured Marnus Labuschagne out of his crease with a smartly bowled slower ball as KS Bharat completed the stumping and then he trapped Matt Renshaw LBW to leave Australia reeling.
Steve Smith was always going to be the biggest thorn in the flesh for India, but Jadeja took care of that too, with the barest turn. The Australian run-machine was deceived as his innings was cut short by another cunning delivery from a man who had troubled Australia on innumerable occasions.
After R Ashwin had dented Australia further with the wickets of Alex Carey and Pat Cummins, Jadeja pushed the tourists back further, picking the wicket of debutant Todd Murphy.
That’s how quickly fortunes can change in a Test match in India. Australia were worried about the dry areas outside the left-handers’ off-side, but by then, they were outdone by two good balls from two pacers and a lot of guile from a world-class spinner making a comeback.
Australia had called on a bowler whose action somewhat resembled R Ashwin’s to prepare for the BIG threat. However, they were destroyed by a comeback man who had long been Ashwin’s ally in India’s dominant run in Test cricket.
It is not easy if you look back at what Ravindra Jadeja went through the last 5 months. He started training with weeks left for the most high-profile Test series in years. Yet, he bowled his heart out and had a clinical display of India’s domination at home. The pitch had precious little to do with Jadeja’s haul or Ashwin’s wickets for that matter. There was nothing on the pitch to suggest the Indian spinners got any extra help – it was all about resilience and craft of the highest level.
