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Ravindra Jadeja has some incredible numbers at his Rajkot outlet. Be it the Ranji Trophy or Test cricket, he simply piles up runs as if it were his birthright. So good is Jadeja’s record at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, renamed the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium before the third Test between India and England, that Ravi Shastri felt he would even make Sir Don Bradman proud.
As Jadeja neared his century in the final session of Day 1 of the third Test, the all-rounders’ batting numbers appeared on the screen. It was then that Shastri couldn’t resist drawing the legendary Bradman’s reference.
“Look at that average. He (Ravindra Jadeja) could make even Don Bradman look from above,” Shastri, former India head coach, said in a commentary.
Ravindra Jadeja’s crazy numbers in Rajkot
Before coming out to bat with India in a precarious situation of 33/3 in the first hour of play on Thursday, Jadeja was averaging 135 in the 17 red-ball matches he played at the venue. His 1,501 runs came after four centuries, one of them at 331, the best of his career, and five half-centuries.
India vs England 3rd Test Live Score
Rajkot is a dream for batsmen most days, but for Jadeja it is a paradise. He was playing his third Test match at this venue. In the previous three times he batted here, he was unbeaten twice and one of them was a century against the West Indies. What were the chances of Jadeja achieving something similar?
With India at 33/3 with Mark Wood and James Anderson breathing fire with the ball and two debutants to follow, India needed not just a partnership, but a big one. And Jadeja delivered again.
With captain Rohit Sharma at the other end, Jadeja first ensured that India went to lunch without further losses and then came the first wicketless session of the series. Rohit seemed a little hesitant at first, trying to find the right balance between attack and caution; Joe Root dropped him when he was 27, but not Jadeja. The left-hander appeared calm, confident and balanced. He just knew what to do when Wood hit him short or Anderson turned the wicket.
Not to mention he was sublime against the spinners. Rohit, who scored 131, and Jadeja put together 204 runs.
The marathon stand is India’s first century partnership and the best so far by either team in the five-match series, tied 1-1.
Rohit fell in the final session to Wood, but Sarfaraz Khan came into the limelight as he took on the bowlers with regular boundaries, including a straight six off Tom Hartley.
Sarfaraz scored 77 runs with Jadeja, who was promoted batting ahead of Sarfaraz, but was run out after a mix-up between the two batsmen and Wood hit the stumps straight at the bowler’s end.
Jadeja, who missed the second match with a hamstring injury, raised his tone with a single and celebrated by swinging the bat in his trademark sword dance.
It was Jadeja’s fourth Test century and second in Rajkot. He currently averages 245 in Test cricket at this venue and has only been dismissed once in his four innings. He would resume batting on Day 2 at 110 with Kuldeep Yadav for company. With wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel and all-rounder Ravichandran yet to arrive, what are the chances of Jadeja making it even bigger?