'Batting at the peak of his ability' - Twitter lauds Ravindra Jadeja's maiden overseas ton at Edgbaston

After witnessing Rishabh Pant’s century on the first day of the fifth (rescheduled) Test match against England at Edgbaston, senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja went on to score his maiden overseas Test century and his third overall in the format as he capitalized on the momentum that was left behind by Rishabh Pant.

India had finished the first day at 338/7 after facing a batting collapse at the start of the day’s play. Pant and Jadeja shared a whopping 222 runs partnership for the sixth wicket and anchored India’s innings at the time of deep pressure. Pant was dismissed on 146(111), just before stumps on the first day as Jadeja remained unbeaten on 83.

With just three wickets in hand, India started off the second day with a bang. Mohammad Shami assisted Jadeja well and tried to rotate the strike as and when possible in order to keep the all-rounder on strike and let him hit the strokes. Shami played defensive before grabbing an opportunity to hit Matthew Potts for a four and then Jadeja took control.

Jadeja took on the English skipper and slammed two boundaries to get close to his century and enter the nervous nineties. After Shami, Jadeja strategized to hit Potts for boundaries, and also survived a scare as he was dropped by Zak Crawley on 92. A strong sense of frustration prevailed in the English camp as they failed to take Jadeja out at a crucial moment.

Crawley and Joe Root both had cracks, but neither was able to seize the opportunity. Ravindra Jadeja attempted to guide it but was unable due to the additional bounce, which caused the outer edge to fly to the slip cordon. Crawley attempted to take it over his head but failed, while Root may have managed to get a fingertip but was also unable to hold on.

James Anderson dismissed Jadeja soon after the century

Surviving the scare, Jadeja’s shot went for a four as he moved to 96. He did not wait any longer to get to his ton, and smacked the next ball for another boundary, to reach the three-figure mark off 183 deliveries. He performed his routine sword act to celebrate the feat as the dressing room gave him a standing ovation. Just as he eyed to move further, James Anderson struck and bowled him out to end Jadeja’s innings at 104 (194).