There's so much more to Ravindra Jadeja than the bat-brandishing maverick allrounder who can make it to many sides on the sole strength of his fielding alone. And while we appreciate those gifts, the core of his genius sometimes gets a little lost in the mad hustle that is white-ball cricket.
That is why to truly understand the force that drives him, there is no better theatre than Test cricket. The longer format has a way of peeling away the layers and revealing your true character. The cheap tricks don't quite work when the batters aren't in a rush to go after you and over the course of a game, the weaknesses, however small they may be, come to the fore.
However, this is exactly where Jadeja shines — not with sleight of hand — but by falling back on plain old, boring consistency. The changes in pace and angle are subtle and he sticks to his guns.
On Day 1, the Australian innings lasted a little over two sessions and more than half the deliveries that the visitors faced were dealt with by Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. While the two were in the middle, the spin-friendly Nagpur pitch didn't seem to be as much of an issue as it had been made out to be.
However, those demons came roaring back a little over half an hour after lunch when Jadeja, who ‘hadn’t seen the sun for five months’, removed both batters in a manner that left-arm spinners dream of. The rest of Australia’s batting wasn’t up to scratch as the left-arm orthodox spinner's 5/47 helped India bowl the visitors out for 177. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul’s 76-run opening stand helped the hosts consolidate their advantage and reach 77/1 at close of play.
{{/usCountry}}However, those demons came roaring back a little over half an hour after lunch when Jadeja, who ‘hadn’t seen the sun for five months’, removed both batters in a manner that left-arm spinners dream of. The rest of Australia’s batting wasn’t up to scratch as the left-arm orthodox spinner's 5/47 helped India bowl the visitors out for 177. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul’s 76-run opening stand helped the hosts consolidate their advantage and reach 77/1 at close of play.
{{/usCountry}}JADEJA MAGIC
Jadeja was one of the bowlers Australia feared would benefit from the unrolled patch outside the left-hander's off-stump. The 'doctored' wicket dominated the pre-match talk and also influenced their team selection as regular No 5 (and left-hander) Travis Head was dropped in favour of right-handed Peter Handscomb. The dry patch, however, never truly came into play. We might have got a better idea if Australia’s left-handers would have lasted long enough to test the hypothesis. They didn't.
The openers were back in the hut before the spinners could come on. With his first ball of the match, Mohammed Siraj produced a full swinging delivery that pitched on the leg stump, straightened and trapped Usman Khawaja leg before the wicket. Then, Mohammed Shami, from round the wicket, sent David Warner’s off-stump cartwheeling. Australia were down to 2/2 and in trouble.
SMITH AND LABUSCHAGNE SET-UP
That is where Smith and Labuschagne put their hands up. They trusted their defence and countered India's bowlers with decisive footwork. But despite their 82-run stand, India’s spin trio knew the chance would come.
The resistance suddenly crumbled in the 36th over. Jadeja had kept Labuschagne honest, forcing him on the back foot with deliveries that targeted the stumps. Then, he floated one wide. It looked like a gift but it was nothing more than a Trojan horse. The batter, on 49, was tempted and pulled out of his crease and the razor-sharp stumping was completed by debutant KS Bharat.
“All the balls were not turning and the bounce was low. That’s why I was using the crease. I had to try to create doubt in the batter’s mind,” Jadeja later said.
“If they (batters) step out to the ball that turns…luckily that’s exactly what happened,” he added, explaining the Labuschagne dismissal.
Next ball, Matt Renshaw was trapped lbw and Australia were suddenly reduced to 84/4. In the 42nd over, he sent Smith packing. Labuschagne had been dismissed by the one that turned. But the set-up was completely opposite for Smith. A series of flighted balls followed by one that came in with the angle. Smith (37) played the wrong line and was bowled.
At 109/5 with the top order back in the dressing room, Australia tried to counterattack. Alex Carey (36) gave it a go but then R Ashwin got into the act, taking three lower-order wickets to achieve the milestone of 450 Test wickets.
Handscomb later said the pitch made ‘runs tough to score’. Jadeja, the hero of the day, felt the wicket was ‘slow and low’. So much so that he ‘had to put more body in his deliveries’ that led to some no-balls.
Perhaps both camps were saying the same thing. It’s just that the level of difficulty created by Jadeja never allowed Australia to feel comfortable in the middle. The pressure was always on and in the end, it told a story of its very own. The allrounder has 177 home wickets at an average of 20.34 and he once again gave us a reminder of why he is so good.
India will want to bat once on this track and if captain Sharma can continue in the same vein, their wish might just be granted. But then again, as the Australian innings showed, things can change pretty quickly. It's just that the visitors don't have a Jadeja to help them along.