Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is considered one of India’s best all-format players. Be it his finishing ability or economic spells in white-ball cricket, the capability of saving matches with the bat in Tests, or his brilliant fielding abilities across formats as well.
However, he had earlier shared his wish in interaction with ESPNcricinfo on their popular category, ’25 questions with Cricketers’, where he stated that he wants to take a 5-for and score a century in the same match. So far, he had only scored one century in Tests against West Indies in 2018 at his home ground. Since then, he hasn’t had an opportunity to score more as more often he has often hung around with the tail, adding crucial runs for the team.
Finally, Ravindra Jadeja, while coming at No.7 for India having lost half their side for 228, rebuilt the innings with Rishabh Pant and scored 175*, the highest-ever score by an Indian No.7. Meanwhile, he shared the reason behind India’s declaration against Sri Lanka in the first innings of the opening Test on Saturday at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mohali. On Day 2, Jadeja came out all guns blazing against Sri Lanka as he carried forward his power-hitting spree alongside spin bowling partner Ravichandran Ashwin and as they added m130 runs for the 7th wicket.
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Just after completing his hundred, Ravindra Jadeja smoked a six and a couple of boundaries to Embuldeniya in an over to show how hungry he was to score more runs. Jadeja surpassed the tally of 150 with a six to Dhananjaya de Silva over mid-off but this time he didn’t display his sword celebration. He was unbeaten on 175 when Indian skipper Rohit Sharma asked the players to declare the innings as the team’s scorecard was glittering with a total of 574/8.
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The Indian fans weren’t happy with Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid’s decision that denied Ravindra Jadeja from scoring his maiden double hundred. But Jadeja himself clarified that it was his signal to the dressing room that persuaded the team management to decide on the declaration.
During the post-day press conference, Ravindra Jadeja said, “Yeah there was a message coming from inside and I was also telling them. When I was batting, balls had started taking spin and there was variable bounce. So I told them that the wicket is playing tricks and we can put them [Sri Lanka] into bat.”
He further added, “They were on the field for almost two days and were naturally tired. So it wouldn’t have been easy for them to come out and start playing shots and stay further on the field. So our plan was to score quickly and declare as soon as possible.”
