How he ever gets left out is beyond me, says Michael Vaughan after Ravindra Jadeja's all-round show in Visakhapatnam

All-time captains XI in ODIs Indian team registered a dominating 203-run victory over South Africa in the first Test of the three-match series played at Visakhapatnam. While Rohit Sharma hit twin centuries, Mayank Agarwal made a scintillating double ton and Cheteshwar Pujara showed signs of returning to form with well-compiled innings of 81, the credit of the win was given to the Indian bowling unit.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was particularly impressed by Ravindra Jadeja, who not only shined with the ball but added important runs with the bat as well when the opportunity presented itself. He slammed 30 runs off 46 balls in the first innings and 40 off 32 deliveries in second innings when quick runs were needed and helped India set a daunting target.

Vaughan puzzled why Jadeja is left out of the team despite good performances

Ravindra Jadeja was brilliant with the ball picking two wickets in the first innings as Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock pummeled the bowling unit and Ashwin took the honours with 7/145. However, Jadeja came into his own in the second innings, when on the fifth and final day, he turned the match on its head, by picking three wickets in an over, including a well-set Aiden Markram.

The left-arm spinner removed Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj in the same over to leave Proteas gasping for air at 70/8. In the first innings, he became the fastest left-arm bowler to 200 Test wickets. Michael Vaughan, who had earlier had a spat with Sanjay Manjrekar with respect to Jadeja’s performances previously, tweeted, “I see @imjadeja had another very solid Test Match .. How he ever gets left out is beyond me !!! #INDvSA”

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma took the crown with his amazing performance in his debut Test as an opener as he hit 176 and 127 in the match. He was named Man of the Match for his twin centuries and also hit a world record 13 sixes, eclipsing Wasim Akram’s record of 12 maximums.

With this victory, India team gained 40 points in the ICC World Test Championship and now has 160 points consolidating their position at the top with two matches to go in the series. The next match will be played in Pune from October 10.

Watch – All-time captains XI in ODIs