Follow UsA bit of grip and turn, and Ravindra Jadeja becomes a different beast altogether. You wake him up at 3 AM and ask him to bowl on a surface that was on offer in Chennai for India’s opening game of the 2023 World Cup against Australia, more often than not, the left-arm spinner would bamboozle the best of batters. The dry Chennai pitch on Sunday (October 8) was perfect for Jadeja and the 34-year-old made the most of it.
Jadeja claimed 3/28 in his 10 overs and played a massive role in helping India dismiss Australia for just 199 in 49.3 overs. The moment he got the required conditions, Jadeja started doing what he has been doing for years, that is to target the stumps and let the surface do its magic. He got the wickets of Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey and broke the back of Australia’s batting line-up.
“When I started the first over, the ball was stopping after pitching. I thought it was afternoon, it was hot and the wicket was dry. I thought a stump-line would be better. From here, some balls would turn, some would go straight, so it won't be easy for the batsman to line up. This was my plan, that I should bowl at the stumps, and luckily the ball to Smith turned a little more. I was thinking that this is a Test match bowling wicket. I shouldn't experiment too much because everything was happening on its own,” said Jadeja.
Australia lost the wicket of in-form Mitchell Marsh in the third over but David Warner and Smith put on 69 runs for the second wicket. Warner fell to Kuldeep Yadav but Labuschagne kept the momentum in Australia’s favour. They were 110/2 at one stage before Jadeja knocked over Smith with a beauty. The ball drifted in towards leg-stump and then turned away sharply to hit the top of off-stump, leaving Smith shell-shocked. Australia then lost their last seven wickets for just 89 runs.
“I think that was the turning moment. When you get a wicket like Steve Smith, from there onwards it was not easy to just come in and rotate the strike for the new batter. From there onwards, they were 110/3 and then 199 all-out. I would say that was the turning point. And yeah, it helped me, because I knew the conditions in Chennai. I've been playing here for like 10-11 years, so I know the conditions in this ground. I enjoyed it. Whatever I contribute to the team, I always feel happy,” said Jadeja.
The Indian bowlers had done the job in the first innings but they had no idea what was about to happen at the start of the run-chase. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood dismissed Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer inside two overs and reduced India to 2/3. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, however, stepped up and put on 165 runs for the fourth wicket to help India start their campaign with an important win.
“When you’re three wickets down in just a couple of overs, you obviously panic a little bit. But we know that Virat and Rahul, they've been doing it for the team for so many years. So, I think nobody was too hyper or panicked. But yeah, luckily, they played brilliantly, they know the conditions well and took the game forward till the last.”
Talking about starting the World Cup on a winning note, Jadeja said: “It feels very good when you defeat big teams, and your confidence definitely goes up. Beating Australia and other strong teams in the World Cup would be great. I won't say it will be easy in front of the other teams because every team is good. But if you win in front of the big teams, you have a different level of confidence.”