Day 1 of the first Test between India and Australia: Ravindra Jadeja’s spell on the Australians
Ravindra Jadeja is so much more than the bat-wielding maverick all-rounder who can join numerous teams based only on his fielding ability. While we are grateful for these gifts, the essence of his talent sometimes gets obscured by the chaos of white-ball cricket.
Test cricket is thus the best theatre in which to comprehend the motivations behind him. The extended format has a way of exposing your genuine nature by removing the surface layers. When batters aren’t eager to attack you, cheap methods don’t exactly work, and throughout a game, flaws, no matter how little, become apparent.
Jadeja, on the other hand, excels in this situation by relying on simple, monotonous constancy rather than deception. He maintains his position while moderating the speed and angle.
On Day 1, the Australian innings took little over two sessions, as Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith handled more than half of the deliveries the visitors were presented with. The spin-friendly Nagpur pitch didn’t appear to be as big of a problem as it had been made up to be when the two were in the middle.
But those demons returned with a vengeance a little more than 30 minutes after lunch when Jadeja, who reportedly hadn’t seen the sun in five months, bowled two batsmen out in a way that left-arm spinners only dream of. The remainder of Australia’s batting was below par, as India was able to knock the visitors out for 177 thanks to the left-arm orthodox spinner’s 5/47. The opening partnership of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, which totaled 76 runs, increased the hosts’ lead and helped them reach 77/1 at the end of the play.
Magic by JADEJA
One of the bowlers who Australia felt might profit from the area that had been unrolled outside the left-off-stump handers was Jadeja. Their decision to start right-handed Peter Handscomb instead of normal No. 5 (and left-hander) Travis Head was affected by the “doctored” wicket, which also dominated the pre-game conversation. But the dry patch was never really put to use. If Australia’s left-handers had persisted long enough to test the theory, we may have had a better notion. They failed to.
Before the spinners could bat, the openers had returned to the hut. Mohammed Siraj delivered the opening ball of the game, a full swinging delivery that pitched on Usman Khawaja’s leg stump, straightened, and trapped his leg before the wicket. Then, from around the wicket, Mohammed Shami sent David Warner’s off-stump spinning. Australia was in peril after falling 2–2.
SET-UP BY SMITH AND LABUSCHAGNE
Smith and Labuschagne raised their hands at that point. They had confidence in their defense and used purposeful footwork to counteract India’s bowlers. However, despite their 82-run stand, India’s spin trio anticipated the opportunity.
The 36th oversaw a dramatic collapse of the resistance. Labuschagne was kept on his toes by Jadeja, who used deliveries that were intended for the stumps to put him on the back foot. He floated one wide after that. Although it seemed to be a gift, it was a Trojan horse. The hitter was tempted to leave his crease when he was on 49, and rookie KS Bharat executed the wonderfully timed stumping.
