3 times Ravindra Jadeja made a batting lineup collapse in Tests
Ravindra Jadeja has been one of India's best all-rounders in Test cricket over the last few years. He has helped India win multiple Tests with his excellence in both departments. Initially, Jadeja's contributions were in the bowling department, but of late, he has made his presence felt in the batting section as well.
The Saurashtra all-rounder recently won back-to-back Man of the Match awards in the first two Tests of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Speaking of his latest heroics, Ravindra Jadeja bagged a seven-wicket haul in the second innings of Australia in the Delhi Test to help India win on Day 3.
Australia were in a decent position at the start of the third day. They were 61/1 with Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne looking good in the middle. Ravindra Jadeja then ripped apart the Aussie batting lineup with his left-arm spin. He united forces with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl Australia out for just 113 runs.
Jadeja returned with figures of 7/48 as Australia collapsed from 61/1 to 113 all out in a matter of a few overs. This was not the first time Jadeja's bowling helped India destroy the opposition batting lineup.
We look at occasions when Jadeja made a batting lineup collapse.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja wrecks Sri Lanka - 5/41, 2022
Ravindra Jadeja stole the show in Virat Kohli's 100th Test match at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium with his all-round brilliance. First, he scored 175 runs in the first innings of the Test against Sri Lanka and followed it up with a five-wicket haul with the ball.
Sri Lanka were 161/4 in their first innings and it looked like they could avoid a follow-on after India declared their innings at 574/8. However, the islanders surrendered to Jadeja's left-arm spin and were all out for just 174 runs.
Jadeja accounted for four of the final six wickets of Sri Lanka's innings. His four victims were Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara.
#2 Ravindra Jadeja stuns Afghanistan - 4/17, 2018
Revisit Ravindra Jadeja’s magic spell of 4-17 against debutants Afghanistan as he guided India to their biggest win in Test history.
Watch now: goo.gl/dLAqTD
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Afghanistan played their first-ever Test against India in June of 2018. It was a one-sided match as the home side crushed the debutants by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in Bengaluru.
Jadeja was the hero for India in the second innings as he finished with figures of 4/17 in just nine overs. His four-wicket haul played a major role in Afghanistan's collapse from 61/4 to 98/9 as Asghar Afghan, Afsar Zazai, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman lost their wickets in quick succession.
#3 England surrender to Jadeja - 7/48, 2016
Ravindra Jadeja powered India to an innings win in a Test against England back in 2016. The venue was Chennai, and Jadeja bowled his then-career-best spell of 7/48 in the second innings to stun the visitors.
Sir Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings provided a solid start to England, stitching together a partnership of 103 runs for the first wicket. However, once Jadeja broke the partnership, the entire English batting lineup fell like a pack of cards.
England were 103/0 at one stage but they were all out for 207 runs. Jadeja bagged seven wickets while Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav got a wicket each.