Ravindra Jadeja, the Indian all-rounder was the toast of the victory in the second Test match against Australia in Delhi, as India won the match by 6 wickets and went 2-0 up in the four-Test series. In addition to this, India also retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well.
It was supposed to be an exciting day of cricket for both teams and the crowd that had come to watch the game as well, as Australia had set themselves up well after finishing day two on 61/1 in 10 odd overs.
However, it seemed that Australian batters’ mentality changed overnight, and instead of using their feet to counter the spin, they began sweeping everything in sight and Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin made merry. They routed the middle and lower order as Matt Renshaw made 2, Peter Handscomb made 0, Alex Carey fell trying to reverse sweep and captain Pat Cummins fell for a golden duck to Ravindra Jadeja.
Travis Head (43) and Marnus Labuschagne (35) were the only batters to reach double digits in the Australian lineup, which was bundled out for just 113 runs.
These Wickets Suit Me: Ravindra Jadeja After His Second Consecutive Player Of The Match Award
Ravindra Jadeja had picked 7/42, his best bowling figure in Test cricket, bettering his previous best of 7/48 against England in 2016. R Ashwin picked 3/59 as India was set only 115 runs to win the match.
In the chase, Rohit Sharma starred with 31 in 20 balls, while Cheteshwar Pujara made 31* as India won the match by 6 wickets. They went 2-0 up in the series and also retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a record fourth consecutive time.
Ravindra Jadeja was named the Player of the Match, his second consecutive award in two Tests, as he completed his 250 Test wickets in the Delhi match and also earned a 10-wicket haul as well.
“I think I was enjoying my bowling. These wickets suit me because the odd ball spins and some stay low. I knew they’d play sweeps and reverse sweeps, so my idea was just keeping it simple and straight. I knew they were looking for runs, so the plan was just bowling into the stumps. If they make a mistake, I have a chance. Don’t think the sweep is a good option against me on this kind of wicket,” Jadeja was quoted as saying by Star Sports during post-match presentation.
The third Test will be played in Indore from March 1 onwards.