Coming off a prolonged break due to injury issues, Ravindra Jadeja announced his return to the international circuit in spectacular fashion and re-instated his importance in the Indian dressing room.
The all-rounder ripped through the Australian batting lineup in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, underway at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
During Australia’s batting in the first innings, Jadeja registered a commendable five-fer, getting rid of some dangerous batters of the visiting unit. Following his outstanding spell, the Aussies were bundled out for just 177 runs. Among others, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got a three-wicket haul under his belt while the pace duo of Mohammad Siraj and Mohammad Shami picking up one wicket each very early in the innings.
Winning the toss, Australia captain Pat Cummins decided to bat first. Though the Nagpur pitch was recognised to be a spinner-friendly track, Indian pacers breathed fire in the early phase. Shami and Siraj sent off the opening pair of David Warner and Usman Khawaja in the first three overs, much before Rohit Sharma introduced spinners in the game. Then, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith tried to settle the innings and stitched a good partnership before Jadeja started single-handedly demolishing the batting line-up after lunch.
The left-arm spinner scythed through the Aussie middle order and dismissed the next four batters with some baffling deliveries. Then, Ashwin joined him in the wicket fest and went on to receive his 450th Test scalp with the wicket of Alex Carey. As his final prey, Jedeja made tail-ender Todd Murphy head to the pavilion for a golden duck, wrapping up with an excellent five-wicket spell.
Watch: Ravindra Jadeja rattles Aussies with five-wicket haul
Following his remarkable bowling, several Indian fans as well as experts showered immense praise on Jadeja. Former cricketer Wasim Jaffer penned a long note praising the all-rounder on his personal Twitter handle.
Jaffer wrote, “Making a comeback after a knee surgery that kept him out for almost six months, and it’s as if he never went away. Same accuracy, control, and speed, also important scalps of Marnus and Smith.”
A user overwhelmed by the performance said that it wasn’t the pitch but Jadeja’s master class.
It wasn’t the pitch but Jadeja’s master-class. Simply brilliant to put up such a staggering show on his injury comeback.
India is in control now.. need to put in a big lead if India wants to take this game away from them.. as I said BGT is already living up to its hype. #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/rFj4JulalB
— Sawera Pasha (@sawerapasha) February 9, 2023
Another fan already presumed him to be the player of the match in the first Test of the series.
What a way to mark a comeback, and this is just the first innings. With 3 more innings left in the match, the Man of the series of the last home BGT could very well end as Man of the match in this test. Ravindra Jadeja, you absolute Rockstar!
— Ricky talks Cricket (@CricRicky) February 9, 2023
Another individual termed Jadeja “a great in Test”.
Here are some other notable reactions:
Jadeja remained out of the sport for almost six months owing to his knee surgery. Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he appeared in a domestic game as the captain of his Ranji Trophy side Saurashtra against Tamil Nadu at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. He stole the show with a seven-wicket haul in 17.1 overs.
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