The veteran Indian all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja stated that he used to bowl for 10-12 hours every day at the National Cricket Academy to become a match-fit and horn his skills for his comeback to the team. Jadeja made a stunning comeback to the Indian team, taking a five-wicket haul on Day 1 of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur. The all-rounder said that he enjoyed his bowling as well.
Talking to the broadcasters at stumps on Day 1, Ravindra Jadeja said, “Very happy with the way I was bowling. I was enjoying my bowling. Playing after 5 months, playing Test cricket, it’s tough. I was prepared for it and I was working hard on my fitness as well as on my skills at NCA.”
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Ravindra Jadeja further said that playing in a Ranji Trophy match ahead of making an international comeback helped him a lot. The left-arm spinner took seven wickets for Saurashtra in a game against Tamil Nadu. He said, “I played a first-class game (Ranji) after a long time and I bowled almost 42 overs. It gave me a lot of confidence to come here and play a Test match.”
Here is the video of the spell from Ravindra Jadeja:
The India all-rounder added that in the ongoing Nagpur Test against Australia, he decided to bowl stump-to-stump. Among the five wickets, Jadeja picked the crucial wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.
Elaborating the same, Ravindra Jadeja said, “There was no bounce on the wicket, I was targeting the stump-to-stump line. The odd ball was spinning and the odd ball was going straight. Being a left-arm spinner, if you get batsmen out caught behind or stumped, you always give credit to the ball.”
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He further added, “In Test match cricket, whatever wicket you take, you are happy with that. I was working hard on my bowling when I was in Bangalore at the NCA. I bowled 10-12 hours every day and that helped me a lot. I was working on my rhythm because I knew that I have to play Test match and I have to bowl long spells.”
