Veteran India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja bagged a unique milestone in the first Test of the two-match series against South Africa. He became the first player in the history of the World Test Championship (WTC) to score 2000 runs and rack up 150 wickets. The 36-year-old put in a brilliant performance with the ball against the Proteas and clinched four wickets in the second innings.
Jadeja claims massive feat
Though India eventually went on to lose the match by a 30-run margin and now trail the series by 1-0, Jadeja bagged another massive feat. His four-wicket haul saw him reach 150 scalps in the WTC, joining Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah as the only Indian players to do so. He is also the seventh-highest wicket-taker in the tournament's history.
Jadeja is undoubtedly one of the finest all-rounders to play the international competition. The ones close to his numbers in the tournament are Ravichandran Ashwin an d Pat Cummins, both of whom have over 100 wickets and over 1000 runs. Ben Stokes' stats in the tournament are also impressive as he has a total of 3616 runs under his belt alongwith 97 wickets.
India suffer agonising defeat
Meanwhile, India had a poor start to the two-match Test series against South Africa. They recorded a defeat at the Eden Gardens where the pitch was the centre of attention. The track saw especially the spinners dominate as both teams failed to take their total over the 200-run mark in any of the four innings. South Africa spinner Simon Harmer was adjudged the Player of the Match for clinching a total of eight wickets during the game.
The Men in Blue looked to be the favourites to win after being handed a modest 124-run target, but got bundled out for only 93 as South Africa scripted their first Test win on Indian soil in 15 years. This victory also saw Temba Bavuma continue his unbeaten record as captain, making it 10 wins from 11 games as the skipper. It remains to be seen if India will be able to bounce back in the second Test that will be played at the Barsapara stadium in Guwahati from November 22.