It was a good day of cricket at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi as both sides managed to hold the ball the in their court at the end of day 1 of the second test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia scored 263 runs in the first innings, where pacer Mohammad Shami bagged four while the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin- Ravindra Jadeja managed to send off the rest 6 of the Australian Batters back to the pavilion.
But it was also a pleasant one because of India’s premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja’s remarkable feat. The all-rounder picked up 3 wickets, entering the 250+ wickets club, and becoming the fastest Indian to reach 2,500 runs and 250 wickets in Test cricket.
‘Capable in every condition’-Parthiv Patel
Jadeja who is making a comeback to International cricket after being out for months due to injury was India’s shining armor in the last test which the visitors quite literally dominated. Looking at his consistent performances, former Indian wicket-keeper batter Parthiv Patel has showered praises on the 34-year-old
“If we look at the opponents against whom he has picked up wickets, 71 wickets against Australia, 51 wickets against England, 42 wickets against South Africa, this shows that he has picked up wickets against the best of teams.” said Parthiv Patel
And all these wickets did not come at home, he’s gone on away tours and regularly picked wickets for India. We have to acknowledge and congratulate him for picking up 250 wickets in Test cricket. On top of that, he has also scored over 2500 runs.” he stated.
“We are not even talking about his fielding prowess, and when he adds up his fielding efforts in Test cricket as well, we get a great all-rounder. Ravindra Jadeja fits the mold of a 3D player. It’s his style, he likes to bowl from stump to stump. He doesn’t get a lot of turns, whatever turn he gets, comes off the pitch. He relies on his pace, which is one of the biggest reasons that he gets so many wickets.” he added.
‘Bits and pieces to a whole package-The incredible rise
From being called a ‘bits and pieces cricketer to becoming India’s first-choice all-rounder in all three formats, the journey has been amazing, to say the least.
Currently the no.1 Test all-rounder in the world, Jadeja became the second fastest ever to reach the mark of 2500runs and 250 wickets in 62 matches, only behind Ian Botham( 55) and above legends like Imran Khan and Kapil Dev who are considered to be be be be the best all-rounders in the history of the game.
A pivotal member of the Indian team, he made his place as a bowling all-rounder mainly with his inimitable accuracy combined with the pace however his batting averages show otherwise. The 34-year-old averages 37.04, just behind the Indian top 3 while it shoots to 42.41 on Indian soil.
Whether he could be called one of all time’s best all-rounders of the game or not his current position as the best in the world is a testimony of his unparalleled skills.