Ravindra Jadeja scored a ffity in the second innings of the fifth Test.
He can score crucial runs. He can get wickets. And to top it all, he is a live wire in the field. The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has been a dream for the Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Regarded as one of the best all-rounders in the world, Jadeja is surely living up to the hype. With three of India’s senior members not being around, Shubman Gill would have expected Jadeja to step up in the series. The all-rounder from Rajkot has done just that, and a lot more. Jadeja notched up a crucial fifty in the second innings of the fifth Test at The Oval.
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The half-century which propelled India’s lead to a competitive 373 was Jadeja’s 27th in Test cricket. To add to that, the 36-year-old also has five hundreds to his name in the longest format. Having all-rounders who are equally good with both bat and ball is nothing less than a luxury for any captain. And Jadeja has shown his capability on both fronts, not just in this series, but for many years that have passed. To couple his batting exploits, Jadeja also has over 325 Test wickets to his name, and is often relied upon for his left-arm spin bowling.
The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has been a silver lining for Jadeja. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner has steered his way alongside some elite names in the history of the game. Here are some of the records which the Indian all-rounder has broken on his way towards a brilliant series.
The left-handed all-rounder made his way towards six 50+ scores in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. This is the most number of 50+ scores in a series for a batter batting at No.6 or lower on English soil. Jadeja overtook Sir Garry Sobers to summit the legendary list. The other two names on the list are Jeff Dujon and Tom Blundell, who got to the milestones in 1988 and 2022 respectively. Sobers registered five 50+ scores, whereas Dujon and Blundell are tied at four each.
Ravindra Jadeja became the first batter in the last 23 years to score runs in excess of 500 in a Test series while batting at No.6 or lower. And it doesn’t end here. In the past 45 years, only two other players have achieved the milestone. That is a quite unique record to the Indian all-rounder’s name, isn’t it?
To add to that, Jadeja scored 516 runs in the five-match series. He became the first Indian with 500+ runs in Tests, batting at No.6 or lower. The others on the list include VVS Laxman, Ravi Shastri and Rishabh Pant. And none of them have come on English soil. The 36-year-old set the five-match Test series on fire.
Now here’s a fun stat. Apart from the 2nd innings of the fifth Test, Jadeja was unbeaten in the second innings of all the first four Tests of the series. He scored 25* in Leeds, 69* in Birmingham, 61* at Lords and 107* in Manchester. The most iconic out of these would be his century in Manchester, where he partnered alongside Washington Sundar to draw the Test match for India.
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It isn’t easy. But that is not all. Batting at No.6 or lower comes with its own set of unique challenges. A batter is more often than not presented with a situation to bat with the lower-order. To be able to play with the lower-order at the other end is a skill which is often unique, and tests one’s patience over a period of time. There are rare situations where the top-order does well and a batter walking in after those is given a free hand to go with the flow.
But the situation isn’t hunky dory every time. On most occasions, players like Ravindra Jadeja have to bat with the tail. The fielding positions of the opposition often become very tricky, and the anchoring batter is left with a situation that isn’t very ideal for a batting team. It is like putting the onus of run-scoring on one’s shoulder. Ravindra Jadeja has surely made it look easy. But it surely isn’t as easy as it looks!
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