Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja celebrates after he dismissed Bangladesh batsman Mohammad Mithun during the one day international (ODI) Asia Cup cricket match between Bangladesh and India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.(AFP)
Rohit Sharma tossed the ball to Ravindra Jadeja, the bowler sauntered to the crease, flicked the hair behind, took few paces to mark the run-up, twirled the ball in his hand, asked the fielders to be positioned in accurate positions, and off he went.
For the first time in 14 months, Ravindra Jadeja had the white ball in his hand, for the first time in 14 months, he had the opportunity to present a case for himself in the limited overs format, and when he was done, he walked off with an inflated reputation even as Ravi Shastri applauded and Rohit Sharma walked with him.
It did not start well though, few stutters, a no-ball, a dead ball, a free hit and a drive through covers and then a sweep through square leg. Shakib-al-Hasan had decided to take Jadeja to the cleaners, three balls was all it took for people elsewhere to cringe and mock the selection.
It was not to be, Dhoni paused the game, went across to Rohit Sharma, asked the fielder to be moved to square leg and then looked at Jadeja and jogged back to his wicket-keeping position.
Shakib took this as a challenge, he went for the sweep again, and as it were all meant to be, he pasted it straight to Shikhar Dhawan at the exact square leg position. That yelp, and that sprint after taking the wicket. Was this Dhoni’s understanding of the bowler, was this Jadeja being lucky or was this Shakib being overly confident? We will never know, but combine all these factors, and a game of cricket ensues.
He proceeded to take Mushfiqur Rahim, who reverse swept a straight ball to covers, he took care of Mithun and then wrapped it up with the wicket of Mosaddek. Flat, straight and accurate, aiming for the stumps, challenging the batsmen to make a move, daring them to take him on and the winking them out. It has been his modus operandi in Tests, it was his strategy in Dubai.
This was Jadeja’s 6th 4-wicket haul in ODIs and 7th time he picked 4 or more wickets in a match. His figures of 4-29 is now the best bowling figures by a left-arm spinner in Asia Cup ODIs.
43 dot balls in 10 overs, Bangladesh did not know what to do, when they attacked, their senior players were dismissed, when they defended, they were going nowhere. All the momentum was drained out of the innings and once again, an ODI match was decided in the middle overs.
“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. What my ability is, I need to sharpen it. I don’t have to show anyone what I can do. I need to challenge myself,” he said after the match.
But, he did have to prove. With teams leaning towards wrist-spinners to befuddle batsmen, Jadeja’s unnerving accuracy can prove to be a bane as it gives the batsmen an opportunity to line him up. He has added few tricks to his arsenal, he is now more confident about slowing up the pace and asking the batsmen to go after him, and this certainly got the job done.
Back in 2013, the all-rounder was the man of the series in the Champions Trophy. And then came the slump, since the 2015 World Cup, he became a one-trick pony and the numbers suffered. With the bat, he could not cross 33 in his previous 21 innings and with the ball, he did not pick up more than 3 wickets in any innings. It all changed on Friday, at least with the ball.
Jadeja is unabashed on the field, he sports a moustache, gives it a twirl, and then wafts the imaginary sword when he bats, but amidst all the smokescreen, he has also become a canny operator, a bloke who is hungry to achieve success, and for India, an all-round option is knocking on the door again. This time, with more substance!
First Published: Sep 22, 2018 14:55 IST
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