On Saturday, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja scored the best score (175) of his Test career and as he was approaching his maiden double hundred, captain Rohit Sharma surprised everyone with his decision to declare the innings.
India finished his first innings with a total of 574/8 and by the end of the second day’s play, Sri Lanka looked in deep trouble with a score of 108/4.
Speaking in the press conference after the stumps, Ravindra Jadeja revealed that he himself sent the message to the dressing room and asked to declare as Sri Lankan players looked tired and it was the right time to put more pressure on them.
“I also told them that there is variable bounce and deliveries have started turning. So I sent a message that there is something on offer from the strip and I suggested that we should put them in to bat now itself,” Jadeja said.
“They were already tired fielding for nearly quarter to two days (five sessions). Since they were tired, it was not easy to play the big shots straightaway and bat for long hours. So the plan was to declare quickly and exploit the fatigue of the opposition batters,” he added.
“Rishabh, Ashwin, and Shami all three supported me”- Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja also said that spending so much time with the bat helped him in bowling as well as he could exploit the right areas in the pitch. He enjoyed bowling in the rough outside off against left-handers.
“Since they were tired, it was not easy to play the big shots straightaway and bat for long hours. So plan was to declare quickly and exploit the fatigue of the opposition batters, My first ball (to Karunaratne) turned and the second ball I thought that I will bowl on the fourth stump and if it turns or stays low, there was always a chance of getting a wicket,” he added.
Jadeja also said that India’s good batting depth helped him to build his innings otherwise often in the lower he had to go for his shots early on his innings. He stated that he used to bat at no.4 for Saurashtra in Ranji Trophy,
“I used to bat at No.4 for Saurashtra so I had a lot of time to build my innings but here I bat No.7 but Rishabh, Ashwin, and Shami all three supported me, As a batter, I give myself time in shot selection and I select my shot after analyzing the behaviour of the strip,” he stated.
Jadeja’s 175* is the highest ever score by any Indian batsman batting at no.7 or lower in Test cricket.
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