India vs New Zealand 2016: Kiwis' bowling coach praises Ravindra Jadeja
The New Zealand cricket team is in Indore to play its third and final Test against India, which is scheduled from 8th to 12th of October. The Kiwis have already lost the series 2-0 and will be going into Saturday's match to salvage some pride.
New Zealand bowling coach, Shane Jurgensen spoke at a press conference on Thursday about a number of things including his admiration for Ravindra Jadeja.
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Jurgensen spoke about the difficulties faced by the New Zealand team in adapting to the Indian conditions. However, he was pleased with his bowling unit's display in the second Test in Kolkata.
He said, "I am very pleased about how the bowlers have gone, particularly in the second innings. I think we bowled at the times when it was the hottest and most humid, the intensity the guys brought in the second innings and to take 20 wickets and get ourselves in the game and give us an opportunity was fantastic."
Speaking about the Indian bowlers Jurgensen said that he was pretty impressed with their display. "One area I've been observing is the Indian bowlers are very accurate, they have developed a lot in that area. They put a lot of pressure and use subtle variations. They know the conditions very well and they manipulate it to suit," he said.
Jurgensen heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja's consistency. He said, " Jadeja has improved a lot."
While Jadeja has been an integral part of the Indian team in the shorter formats of the game, he has looked to be shady in the traditional format. Jadeja has played 19 Tests played so far with 81 scalps at an impressive average of 23.15. However, he hasn't been equally good with the bat as he averages a mere 23.35.
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It is to be noted that Jadeja was dropped after the ODI series against Bangladesh in June 2015. However, he made a comeback into the Test team in November against the South Africans and has enjoyed a fine run of form recently, making a mark in almost every game that he has played since then leaving him at 6th place in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers and lies 25th in the ODI rankings.
Jadeja has been able to carry that great form into the New Zealand series where he has scored 112 runs at an average of 56.00 and picked up 10 wickets in the series so far. As of now, Jadeja is the second highest wicket-taker in the series
If the Indian spinner continues to bowl the way that he has been doing, he might well overtake Ravichandran Ashwin as the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing series against New Zealand.