And it’s settled, the trophy stays home! The third morning of the Delhi Test saw an unexpected turn as Australia disintegrated under the pressure of their aggressive tactics, going from an overnight score of 61/1 to 113 all out, losing out on their chance of taking the Border-Gavaskar trophy. India chased down the target of 115 runs with ease as they won the match by 6 wickets. The Aussies were clueless against the shrewd spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
Ravichandran Ashwin claimed three crucial wickets while Cheteshwar Pujara remained unbeaten in his 100th test but the undisputed star of the match was Ravindra Jadeja who crushed the Kangaroos with his breathtaking 7-wicket spell, picking up his second consecutive Player of the match award.
“Jadeja brings up chances for the bowler to pick wickets”-Parthiv
Ravindra Jadeja who took 3 wickets in the first innings finished with career-high figures of 7 for 42, adding another 10-wicket haul to his name. Former Indian wicket-keeper batter Parthiv Patel floored with his performances, showered the all-rounder with praises.
“With the accuracy with which Jadeja bowls, it is very hard to hit the sweep shot because you have to connect the bat to the ball properly and if you don’t the ball usually goes and hits the stumps and that is what we saw. Jadeja bowled with great accuracy and did not try to do anything extra. He bowled stump to stump and when there is so much help with the pitch, you don’t have to do much.” said Patel
“Yesterday, Australia was attacking Jadeja but that also brings up chances for the bowler to pick wickets. Jadeja did not lose his patience and kept bowling in the right areas.” he added.
All-rounders show at the Arun Jaitley Stadium
It was quite a show of India’s all round strength at the Indian capital as the trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel were to India’s rescue every time the hosts were given a shake. Previously, Axar Patel saved the day by playing a match defining 74 runs knock in tow with Ashwin who provided as crucial contributions in the bowling department as well picking up 3 in each innings.
And then there was Ravindra Jadeja, who rightly owned the game after a match winning performance in Nagpur. With his 7/42 performance, he finished with his career best figures and became the first Indian to pick up two consecutive Player of the match awards against the Aussies. The 36-year-old now has 17 wickets to his name in the series with two games still to go.
Also Read: IND vs AUS: “It Won’t Be Easy Getting Wickets”- Indian Spinner Axar Patel