Ravichandran Ashwin’s superior game-reading ability again proved fruitful for the Indian team.
During Day 2 of the Wankhede Test between India and New Zealand, Ravichandran Ashwin gave his piece of advice to Rohit Sharma about bowling changes. Ashwin asked Rohit to bring Jadeja from his end, for spinners were getting ample purchase from that end.
It was the same end where Jadeja took five wickets in the first innings, registering 5/65 in 22 overs. However, Rohit initially denied Ashwin’s request, especially since Jadeja was bowling well from the other end and had beaten batters between the overs.
“In between overs, Ashwin went up to Rohit, asking his captain to change the end Ravindra Jadeja is bowling from. Rohit immediately quashed it. Jadeja is getting decent purchase from the end he is bowling from,” exclaimed Murali Kartik on air.
Ashwin bowled well from this end and looked better than any of his previous spells in the series, for spinners were getting ample help in the third innings. Maybe Rohit wanted him to continue from this end, especially since he was in rhythm and looked to get a batter anytime.
After a few overs, Rohit Sharma finally changed Ravindra Jadeja’s end and brought him from Ashwin’s end. He used Washington Sundar, who has been phenomenal in this series, from Jadeja’s end to swap points.
The decision proved correct as Ravindra Jadeja removed Daryl Mitchell in the first over, and he didn’t stop just here. He dismissed Tom Blundell in the following over to put India on top, and Ashwin’s superior game-reading ability again proved fruitful for the Indian team.
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Jadeja took another couple of wickets a few overs later, dismissing Ish Sodhi on a score of 8 and Matt Henry on 10 to run through New Zealand’s innings. Overall, he ended the day with four wickets for 52 runs in 12.3 overs and would like to complete another five-wicket haul to take ten wickets in the game.
He didn’t start the series well but has slowly redeemed himself as the rubber moved forward. Jadeja will look to wrap the innings as early as possible and help India get as minimal as possible to chase.
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