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India’s ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has made an emphatic comeback to international cricket after recovering from knee surgery. After picking up a fifer on Day 1 to restrict Australia for 177 at Nagpur, Jadeja scored an unbeaten 66 on Day 2 to break legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev’s record. This was the fifth time Jadeja has taken a fifer and scored a fifty in a Test. India’s World Cup-winning captain Dev held the previous record.
After skipper Rohit Sharma got out after a terrific ton, Australia had a chance to wrap up India’s innings with the second new ball but the fightback from Jadeja and Axar Patel kept them at bay. The southpaw scored an unbeaten 66 off 170 deliveries including nine fours. He shared an unbeaten 81-run partnership for the ninth-wicket to take India’s lead to 144.
Jadeja returned to the Indian side after a big gap of over five months. He had to leave the Asia Cup midway and come back to India for his knee surgery. During the recovery period, he missed T20 World Cup in Australia and several bilateral series at home and away. Before donning the Indian jersey again, Jadeja tested his fitness in Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy clash where he took a seven-fer against Tamil Nadu.
Former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh was all praises for the 34-year-old who spoiled Australia’s chances of dominating after Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first on a rank turner.
"The game was in the balance when Jadeja and Patel were batting. That partnership was amazing. Jadeja, he is such a good player. His batting has improved. He has improved technically and mentally as a batter. I think he sees himself as a proper batter, rather than as a late-order hitter. You can tell that in the way he batted. A very mature innings, celebrating in his trademark way. He sees himself as a proper batter. It's making a big difference to his game," Waugh told Star Sports.
Former head coach Ravi Shastri also praised Jadeja for his all-round performance.
"The previous innings was a hundred at Edgbaston. He was out for 5 months after that. But the reason why he can come back and get on with it is he keeps things very simple. If you look at his action, it's simple, repeatable action. He has subtle variations and lets the pitch do the rest," Shastri said.
"Even in his batting, he looks to play it straight. Very little initial movement. He is a fit boy. He himself said the return to Ranji Trophy gave him a lot of confidence. He felt good bowling in that game and that has helped," he added.
