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Cricket PlayersWatch: Gavaskar can't keep calm after Ravindra Jadeja knocks back Smith's stumps, leaves him in tatters in 4th Test
Ravindra Jadeja produced an excellent delivery to end Steve Smith's gritty stay at the crease on Day 1 of the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Team India's star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja gave the side a crucial breakthrough on Day 1 of the fourth and final Test of the series in Ahmedabad, as he removed a dangerous-looking Steve Smith in the third session. Smith, alongside, Usman Khawaja, had added 79 runs for the third wicket and had looked solid on his stay at the crease when a flatter delivery from Jadeja did the Aussie skipper in.
Smith attempted to push the delivery towards the off-side but the ball didn't shift the trajectory after pitching, keeping straight and finding an inside edge off Smith's bat. The ball eventually ricochet off the pads and struck the stump, ending Smith's resilient stay at the crease. He scored 38 off 135 deliveries. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who was on-air during the dismissal, was mightily impressed with Jadeja's delivery.
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Earlier, Smith had won the toss and opted to bat on a relatively slower surface at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The start of the play preceded a visit from the prime ministers of both countries (India and Australia), as they celebrated ‘75 years of friendship’ between the nations. PM Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese also handed the Test caps to their respective side's captains, Rohit Sharma and Smith.
While Australia took the field unchanged from their previous XI, Mohammed Shami made a return to the team for India as he replaced Mohammed Siraj.
The Aussies had made a decent start to their innings, adding 61 for the first wicket before Ravichandran Ashwin struck the opening breakthrough, dismissing Travis Head on 32. Marnus Labuschagne, then, departed early as Shami castled him on 3.
India are leading the four-match Test series 2-1 but require a win in the final Test to secure a berth in the World Test Championship final, that takes place between June 7-11 at The Oval. Australia have already qualified for the title clash, thanks to their win in Indore Test last week. In case India fail to win the final Test in Ahmedabad, the side would hope Sri Lanka don't sweep New Zealand 2-0 in the away Test series, that began on Thursday.
