WTC Final: Five best performances by Ravindra Jadeja
One of the best all-rounders of the modern era, Ravindra Jadeja has taken the cricketing world by storm in the past couple of years. The Saurashtra cricketer has graduated from a white-ball specialist to a vital cog in the bowling unit of the Indian team in the longest format of the game.
The left-arm spinner has been pivotal to India's performance in the World Test Championship.
In the 10 Test matches, he has amassed 469 runs at an average of 58.62, including five half-centuries. Along with this, the ace spinner has been in sublime form, scalping 28 wickets and guiding the team to many memorable wins.
Let us relive five of his top performances in the World Test Championship.
#5 58 runs vs West Indies
In the first match of the World Test Championship away from home in the Caribbean, the Indian team were tottering at 189 runs for the loss of six wickets in the first innings.
Coming in at number 8, Jadeja steadied the ship along with Rishabh Pant. He batted with the lower order to notch up a vital half-century. His knock was studded with six boundaries and one massive six.
The southpaw single-handedly helped the visiting side get to a fighting total of 297 in the first innings.
#4 4 for 87 vs South Africa
Vishakhapatnam witnessed spin bowling of the highest caliber as Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin enthralled the fans with a magical spell of bowling.
While Ashwin's seven-wicket haul was instrumental in helping the home team bundle out the opposition for 431, Jadeja weaved his magic in the second innings to dent the opposition with crucial wickets of the middle order.
With 395 runs to win, the left-arm spinner opened the bowling along with Ashwin and made an immediate impact by scalping the prized wicket of Dean Elgar early in the innings.
He finished with figures of 4 for 87 and his exploits with the ball in the second innings enabled the Indian team to a massive 203 run victory.
#3 91 vs South Africa
The left-handed batsman has been a mainstay in the batting unit of the Indian team for the past couple of years. He has time and again guided the team out of challenging situations with crucial runs lower down the order.
In the second Test match of the series against South Africa, the southpaw recorded his highest score in the World Test Championship. Coming in at number six, he forged a crucial 225-run partnership with skipper Virat Kohli for the fifth wicket.
Making optimum use of the conducive conditions on offer, Jadeja scored 91 runs off 104 balls with eight fours and two sixes to propel the Indian team to declare at 601 runs for the loss of five wickets in the first innings.
#2 57 vs Australia
The Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will be remembered as one of the most incredible comebacks in the history of the game.
After being down and out in the first Test at Adelaide, the Indian team bounced back in emphatic fashion courtesy of a masterclass from Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja.
After bundling out the opposition for 195 runs in the first innings, the duo stitched a crucial stand of 121 runs to help the Indian team get the all-important lead heading into the second innings.
He scored a crucial 57 down the order and played the perfect foil to Ajinkya Rahane. It proved to be extremely critical in the context of the game as it enabled the team to gain a massive first-innings lead.
#1 4 for 62 vs Australia
Ravindra Jadeja produced yet another magical performance for the Indian team in the third Test match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
After leveling the series at Melbourne, the Indian team stepped onto the field, aiming to seal the series at the SCG. A strong batting performance by their top order put the home team in a comfortable position.
However, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah derailed the middle order by scalping wickets in quick succession. The left-arm spinner picked up crucial wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Wade to help the Indian team crawl back into the contest.
The 32-year-old also produced brilliance in the field as he dismissed a well-set Steven Smith courtesy of a direct hit from the boundary rope.