Any bowler must have a demarcation while playing Ravichandran Ashwin and this is no exception for Ravindra Jadeja who stands out as the best of the lot.
“Jadeja is on this path of becoming one of the few cricketers to have taken 300 test wickets, and scored 3000 test runs, having presently reached 299 test wickets and 3122 test runs made.
Only 10 players in the history of cricket have made it to this club and they include none other India, Kapil Dev and Ashwin. Great players like Gary Sobers, Jacques Kallis are not in this club.”
Moderate attacking partnerships usually do not include the name of Jadeja with other all-rounders. And the reason instruction Herculean.
‘Ravindra Jadeja resembles in silence to a Chinese stealth fighter. Which is why in the middle you will never hear him gushing about his stock skill set like how Ashwin does at press meets or on his You Tube channel.”
It is in such keen situations that Jadeja’s blood-thirsty aggressiveness comes forth. In the first Test against Bangladesh, which India won by 280 runs, the duo of Jadeja and Ashwin was an important last-wicket partnership in the first innings. From a precarious position of 144 for six, they contributed to a 199 run seventh-wicket partnership of 376. Although Jadeja making 86, most attention was on Ashwin centurion.
In that match, though Ravindra Jadeja’s effort proved critical with five wickets, he was not able to out peak Ashwin who scalped six in the second innings.
Jadeja’s involvement in trying to run out Litton Das went unappreciated as per the give and take while much attention was directed at Ashwin’s strategy against Shakib Al Hasan.
It is not so much his artistic creativity which defines Jadeja as it is his desire to win. More often than not, his all-round contributions are placed in the footnotes which only begin to be appreciated by some observers.
Ravindra Jadeja’s contribution was praised by Ashwin who said, “He has been a very inspirational story. There are times when you’re in the race and your other co-players are looking to finish first and so are you. And then you progressively start to appreciate the players.
“That’s now that women locker-room has moved to another stage – now I know that I can never overcome Jadeja so this laud comes one notch down. But, yes, I am quite secure in myself but quite motivated by the things he has achieved,” said Ashwin after first Test.
Also since 2012, the duo of Jadeja and Ashvin played together 45 test matches in Indian soil from which they emerged victorious in 34, lost 3 and drawn 8. In these relations, Jadeja had captured 218 while Ashwin had 263 wickets.
“I would say that it can be concluded that, they are dependent on each other being around. I would say more of a benefit out of the presence of Jadeja, because he does not release much to batsmen. For example, even on flat wickets, the batters have a hard time when it comes to him due to his discipline.”
“So there are situations where they have to take chances against Ashwin or the other bowlers like Bumrah and Shami for instance,” the former Indian spinner explained to PTI. “The situation for the visiting batters is really…no-hope, the pressure is all the time on them.”
“He is also rather selfless in what he does, shying away from the limelight. He refused to do big interviews or fight for any positions. I don’t even know whether he likes all this hoopla. He appears a satisfied man, content to play his part without being requested,” he added.
What happened is that after the Chepauk Test other players were in high spirits, articulated before broadcasters and engaged them while Ravindra Jadeja was at the fence twiddling with the red-ball and looking at the ground possibly planning out the next test series in his mind.
