Ravindra Jadeja dusts off the sword after bringing up his 9th Test fifty

Ravindra Jadeja is that sort of player who cannot go unnoticed in a team. Whether it is with the bat, ball or just as a fielder. When at his best the 29-year-old is a complete cricketer. However, his inconsistency with his two primary trades and lack of quality performances overseas has restricted his game time on overseas tours. In his comeback game at The Oval, Jadeja first picked up a four-wicket haul and then played his best Test knock to remain unbeaten on 86.

While he has played almost all the Test matches in India and Asia, outside the subcontinent Jaddu last played a Test match against Windies in August 2016 where he contributed 22 runs and picked up 3 wickets. The team expects a lot more of him and thus usually prefer Ravichandran Ashwin when they need just one tweaker in the XI.

The left-hander was on the bench for the first four matches, when the Indian team opted for two spinners at Lord’s it was Kuldeep Yadav instead. As Ashwin struggled with his fitness and was clearly half the player in the previous match, they finally gave Jadeja a chance in the final Test. He responded really well bowling with a lot of control on day 1, he troubled most batsmen with his left-arm spin and at the end of the innings had 4 wickets to his name.

He further enhanced his reputation after the knock he played coming in at No.7. He walked out to partner Hanuma Vihari late on day 2 and continued to develop an invaluable partnership in the first session of the third day. Vihari got out after his fifty and Jadeja continued to stitch together partnerships with the tail.

Batting on 47, he got a loosner from Moeen Ali and smashed it through the off-side for a boundary. He dusted his bat, which was his way of telling everyone that it had been out of use for a bit too long. Jaddu then performed his Rajputana sword swirling and the skipper Kohli, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane as well as the batting coach Sanjay Bangar all stood up to applaud.

He further hurt England and converted it into a bigger knock pulling the tail through. He went back not out on 86 and the deficit was just 40 runs.

Here is the video of his celebration:

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