Ravindra Jadeja came quite close to becoming the first man in Test cricket history to pick up 10 wickets and score over 150 in a Test match. The star spinner finished the game with 9 wickets and 175 not-outs as India beat Sri Lanka by one innings and 222 runs in the first of a 2 Test series at Mohali on Sunday.
Jadeja, who took India’s Day 2 total to 574/8, shone with the ball to take 8 wickets on Sunday, including a 5-wicket pull in the first innings. Jadeja had an opportunity to complete a 10 wicket match towards the end of Session 3 on Day 3 but the last two Sri Lankan wickets fell to R. Ashwin and Mohammed Shami.
India vs Sri Lanka, Test 1 Day 3: Highlights
Sri Lanka lost 16 wickets on Day 3 as they were bundled for 174 and 178 as Rohit Sharma won his first test as captain by a convincing margin.
“To be honest, I don’t know any statistics. I’m feeling really good, happy to be making runs and picking wickets for the team. Of course, as a player, you boost your self-confidence with such a performance,” said Jadeja after winning the player of the match award.
Nonetheless, Jadeja became only the 6th cricketer and the first Indian in 60 years to reach the hundreds in a Test match and scored a 5-0 Wicke pull. Jadeja also broke Kapil Dev’s record for highest score at 7th place by an Indian in Test cricket.
It is also worth noting that it was Jadeja’s third consecutive Man of the Match win at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali and the all-rounder said he always felt a positive vibe when he was in Punjab town.
“I would say this is my lucky field. Whenever I come here I get positive vibes. I wanted to partner with Rishabh, give him the punch and enjoy his punches from the other end,” he added.
“I didn’t do anything differently, just played to my strengths and gave myself time to calm down. I try to keep it very simple in the middle.”
India next plays Sri Lanka in the 2nd Test, a March 12 pink ball affair in Bengaluru and Jadeja said he will work on getting used to the pink ball.
“I’ve never played with the pink SG ball, so it will be different and I’ll practice for a few days, hopefully it will go down well,” he added.
