This was a comeback which perhaps even Ravindra Jadeja himself couldn’t have dreamt of.
On Wednesday, Jadeja was busy representing Saurashtra in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh in New Delhi. Saurashtra won, but Jadeja didn’t really have a good match. Coming in to bat No.4, he made 14 and then with the ball, he was wicketless conceding 62 runs from the 10 overs he bowled.
On the same day, India were playing against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Dubai. All-rounder Hardik Pandya suffered a lower back injury while bowling and was stretchered off the ground, unable to take further part in the match. As it turned out later, Pandya was ruled entirely out of the tournament.
Enter Jadeja, as Pandya’s replacement. He was included in the XI in India’s first Super Four match against Bangladesh on Friday.
Playing an ODI after almost 14 months, Jadeja walked away with the Man of the Match trophy, taking four wickets in India’s seven-wicket win.
Jadeja’s figures of 10-0-29-4 helped India bowl out Bangladesh for just 173 and then Rohit Sharma hit an unbeaten 83 to earn India a victory with 82 balls to spare.
Jadeja was visibly happy while speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony. “Yeah, I’m very happy… Finally, I was playing an ODI after a long time… Almost 15 months... I always wanted to make a mark, and whenever I get the chance, I play to my potential and do my best.
“I keep talking to myself that I have to do well… That finally happened today and I’m very happy,” the left-arm spinner said.
Jadeja’s last ODI was in early July last year, against the West Indies in Kingston.
The entire Indian bowling unit were collectively brilliant on Friday as they made the life of the Bangladeshi batsmen tough. Medium pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah claimed three wickets each. Kuldeep Yadav bowled very well though he was wicketless.
Jadeja acknowledged the help that he got from his fellow India bowlers. “Kuldeep and Chahal were putting pressure on the batsmen and luckily, I was getting the wickets from the other end. That’s how it works in cricket. Someday I get the wickets, someday someone else does,” he said.
Asked if he missed batting on Friday as India lost just three wickets, the all-rounder replied: “Not really… I need to play my role in every match and look forward to doing well against Pakistan in our next game.”
Captain Rohit was also full of praise for his team, especially the bowlers. He refused to single out anyone for special praise, but he did mention Jadeja’s excellent performance.
“It was a clinical performance from the start… We bowled very well and we always knew it was going to be better batting under the lights. It was indeed a clinical effort from everyone.
“For Jadeja, playing an ODI after a long, long time, to come out and bowl like that was a great effort from him. In fact, it was a great performance from everyone… I don’t want to single out anyone.
“Everything went according to our plans, and when that happens, things look a lot easier.”
Explaining how he marshalled his bowling resources, Rohit said: “It was important on a pitch like that to rotate the bowlers and not allow the batsmen to settle, to keep them guessing… If the spinners bowl a long spell, it becomes easy for the batsmen on such a wicket.
“So we wanted to rotate the bowlers in shorter spells. It was a challenge for us, but I think the bowlers responded really well. We always knew that if we kept tight lines, the wickets would come.”
About turning it to an effortless chase, Rohit said: “Once you’re in, you got to make sure you bat as long and as deep as possible in these conditions. One of us had to stay till the end of the innings, glad that I was able to do that.”
India’s next match is against Pakistan on Sunday and Rohit hoped that they would be able to repeat the same performance.
“We got to go back and recover… Tomorrow is a day off. We need to come back fresh and we hope to repeat the same performance against Pakistan.”
