The Indian cricket team’s fortunes and performances improved drastically in the last two limited overs games on their difficult tour of Australia, in part due to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The heads had dropped after the second ODI in Sydney, but Jadeja and Hardik Pandya rose to the occasion and the former delivered a telling blow with the bat at the Manuka Oval, just ask Sean Abbott and Josh Hazlewood!
He put on another show, despite visibly being in some pain a couple of days later to help India off to a good start in the T20s. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to add to the efforts of the series win after being ruled out due to a concussion.
The southpaw’s fantastic batting in Canberra prompted quite a few reactions and former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer was one to have a cheeky dig at Sanjay Manjrekar too.
"I am not a big fan of bits and pieces players which Jadeja is at this point of his career in 50-over cricket. In Test matches, he is a pure bowler. But in 50-over cricket, I would rather have a batsman and a spinner," Manjrekar had said during the 2019 ODI World Cup.
Jadeja’s made a habit of making the difference with the bat in recent months and since the ODI World Cup in 2019, especially the semi-final, he turned a corner. The all-rounder’s numbers have been nothing short of impressive since in limited overs cricket showing that he’s definitely evolved.
He averaged a shade under 30 in the 151 games he had played before the World Cup semi-final and since has scored 376 runs in 12 innings at an average of 62.66 and strike rate of 106.51.
His strike-rate since the game at Old Trafford is the second best in ODI cricket (minimum 10 innings batted) with Nicholas Pooran leading the chart with a strike rate of 113.68.
Including the World Cup semi-final, Jadeja’s first bat since the spat with Manjrekar, the southpaw has scored three half-centuries, two (in vain) against New Zealand at Old Trafford and Auckland and the third in Canberra against Australia. He’s also remained not out in six innings.
Jadeja’s worked on his batting and eliminated weaknesses against pace and bounce which has been evident in Australia.
Not just in ODI cricket, Jadeja’s been fantastic in the T20 format as well as was seen in IPL 2020. While the Chennai Super Kings struggled, Jadeja’s figures with the bat read as; 232 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 171.85 - the third-highest after Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya (minimum 120 runs) - in the tournament.
A fantastic fielder and a bowler who can really stifle the opposition in ODI cricket, Jadeja’s batting had often been the subject to plenty of ridicule in the fast-moving world of the internet. Mind you, he’s scored three triple centuries in first-class cricket!
The evolution of Jadeja as a finisher lets the Indian think tank breathe a sigh of relief as it adds another dimension to the team, especially given how Hardik Pandya’s also going from strength to strength in his game.
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