A few hours after Ravi Shastri questioned the Indian team management’s decision to send Ravindra Jadeja ahead of debutant Sarfaraz Khan, the former head coach was made to eat his words as the all-rounder responded with a sparkling 4th Test century. Jadeja, who walked out to bat at No. 5 with India in dire straits at 33/3, responded in style by first adding a double-century partnership with captain Rohit Sharma and then completing his milestone against England at Rajkot’s newly-rechristened Niranjan Shah Stadium.
With Rohit, he put on 204 runs for fourth wicket and although the India captain departed for 131, Jadeja played patiently, getting to the three-figure mark in 198 balls with a single down to fine leg.
Shastri, who was on commentary when out came Jadeja, said that he would have preferred seeing Sarfaraz stick to No. 5 than Jadeja getting a batting promotion. Whether it was the management’s decision to go with a right-hand, left-hand combination, throwing Sarfaraz, who has waited for this moment since eternity, into the sharks straightaway would have tested his mettle.
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“Weighing the options, I would have gone with Sarfaraz. Very straightforward – making his debut, Day 1 of a Test match, good batting conditions, good player of spin. The only reason you can think [of Jadeja batting ahead of Sarfaraz] is the left-hand, right-hand combination. With the spinners out there, I can understand Jadeja could still get a 100 from here. But someone playing his 1st Test match, you want to expose him, show confidence in him. Go and see what Test cricket is all about and if he passes the test, he will only become a better player,” Shastri had mentioned.
Ravindra Jadeja’s response
That Shastri had mentioned the possibility of Jadeja hitting a hundred is what makes this even more interesting. Whether someone conveyed Shastri’s opinion, we’ll never know, but Jadeja found a brilliant way to respond to that slight bit of criticism with a second Test century against England, adding to the 104 he scored against them two years ago at Edgbaston.
What promises to elevate this century in Jadeja’s eyes is that it follows closely on the heels of his return from injury… and also the fact that it came when another blow could have cost India dearly and almost ruled them out of the Test on Day 1 itself. India were all over the place after losing their star performers from the last Test – Shubman Gill for duck and Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply for 10 – when Jadeja and Rohit’s rescue act gave India breathing room. Both played out the next 55 overs without much risk to slowly build their partnership. After India’s top-order was rocked early, Jadeja and Rohit played out a wicketless session.
