Indian spin ace Ravindra Jadeja got the better of Australian batter, Steve Smith, in the ongoing first Test between the two sides at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur which began on February 9, 2023. Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to bat first.
Suryakumar Yadav and KS Bharat made their Test debuts for India, while Todd Murphy made his Australia Test debut as well.
Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj got Usman Khawaja out LBW for one run and then Mohammad Siraj clean bowled David Warner for 1 run as well. Then Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith added 82 valuable runs for the third wicket, frustrating Indian captain Rohit Sharma and bowlers as well.
But then Ravindra Jadeja spun some of his spin magic and first got Marnus out stumped by KS Bharat for 49 runs and on the next ball, got Matt Renshaw out LBW, which was contested by the batter via DRS.
But the replays showed that it was the umpire’s call and since the on-field umpire had given his out, Renshaw went back to the pavilion for a golden duck.
Steve Smith’s Attempt To Up The Ante Nipped In The Bud By Ravindra Jadeja’s Beauty Of A Ball
After Labuschagne and Renshaw were dismissed, Steve Smith tried to up the run rate and hit Axar Patel for three fours in and over and began to look dangerous. However, Ravindra Jadeja was giving him some trouble and it proved to be his undoing.
Jadeja bowled him a couple of balls, which spun away from him and one even missed the edge of his bat by millimeters and got Jadeja a thumbs-up from Smith.
But after those two deliveries, Jadeja bowled one which went with the arm and didn’t turn. Smith played for the spin, leaving a tiny gap between his bat and pad and the ball snuck in and disturbed the off-stump.
Steve Smith tried to defend it on the front foot, but the tiny gap was enough for the stumps to be dismantled and the batter looked at the spot where the ball pitched and accepted his fate, and walked back to the pavilion for 37 runs.
Here is the video:
That ?????? when @imjadeja let one through Steve Smith's defence! ??
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— BCCI (@BCCI) February 9, 2023