Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja believes there is no better satisfaction than performing for the country. Jadeja scored a brilliant knock of 104 runs in the first innings of the ongoing fifth Test match against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
The left-hander showed all the patience in his batting as he left a lot of balls outside the off-stump. Ergo, he forced the England bowlers to bowl close to his body and he was able to take advantage.
Jadeja added 222 runs with Rishabh Pant, who scored a magnum opus knock of 146 runs on the opening day of the Test match. The all-rounder then added crucial runs with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah before he was dismissed by England’s veteran pacer James Anderson.
Meanwhile, Jadeja has been performing consistently for India in the red-ball version, and his ability to score runs while batting with the tail makes him an asset for the team. The left-hander played a key part in helping India post a par score of 416 runs in the first innings against England and thus put their noses in front.
On the other hand, Jadeja was not in good form while leading Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. But he was able to turn the tables for the national team.
“What happened, happened. IPL was not on my mind. Whenever you are playing for India, your entire focus needs to be on the Indian team. It was the same for me, there is no better satisfaction that performing well for India,” he said.
“It feels really good to do it outside India, especially in England. To hit a 100 as a player is a really big thing. I can really take some confidence in myself as a player from this, to score a 100 in England, especially in swinging conditions, so yeah it feels really good,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami scored 16 runs whereas Jasprit Bumrah smashed 31 runs off just 16 balls as he took on the attack against Stuart Broad. In fact, Bumrah created a world record as he scored 35 runs (six runs were extras) against Broad and it is now the most expensive over in Test cricket.
“Our 9, 10 and 11 do plenty of batting practice. Our team management ensures they work on their batting at practice. It is a nice feeling when the 9,10 and 11 score the runs because it is a bonus for the team.Whenever Bumrah bats in the nets he takes it seriously.It is not like when he bats he has a casual approach, he puts a price on his wicket. The last 40-50 runs he scored along with others is a bonus,” he concluded.
India has a lead of 332 runs while England is tottering at 84-5 in the first innings after the end of second’s day play.
