"Jadeja was really magnanimous enough to first give the ball away" - Ravichandran Ashwin
Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised Ravindra Jadeja for his 'magnanimous' attitude in the first Test match against Sri Lanka in Mohali. The star all-rounder sacrificed a few overs to give Jayant Yadav more bowling time on Day 3.
Jadeja, who scored a mammoth 175* on Day 1, had also picked up five wickets in the first innings with the ball. After adding three more scalps to his name on Day 3, he was close to becoming the first player to make a 150+ score and pick up 10 wickets in the same match.
However, Jadeja readily agreed to help Yadav find some confidence rather than chase a new record.
Speaking to Star Sports post Team India's victory, Ashwin revealed that it was Jadeja who readily gave up his overs when skipper Rohit Sharma wanted to give a few overs to Jayant Yadav.
The 35-year-old said:
"In between, we both realised that Jayant hadn't bowled a lot. For someone who is going to be a third spinner in the team, and he has been the third spinner for a while now, it's sometimes very hard - doesn't get a long enough spell sometimes. So Rohit also wanted to make sure that he got a bit of bowling"
The off-spinner further added:
"It takes a few overs for the spinners to bowl and it was basically (a question of) who was going to give up a few overs at that point of time. Jaddu decided that he would give him a go from the other side where there was a little bit more spin"
Praising his spin-bowling partner for being magnanimous, Ashwin said:
"And then a little while later, I had to give up on the other side. Sometimes it's not that easy being the third spinner in a side and we wanted to look after him a little bit. Jaddu was really magnanimous enough to first give the ball away"
Jadeja's man of the match performance helps India register dominant win in Mohali
It was Rohit Sharma's first ever Test assignment as full-time captain and former skipper Virat Kohli's 100th Test match. The Indian team won the fixture at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium by an innings and 222 runs.
Test wickets and counting 
4⃣3⃣6⃣ Test wickets and counting 👏👏
A special milestone 🔥
Way to go, @ashwinravi99 🌟🔝
#TeamIndia #INDvSL @Paytm https://t.co/zUh884t3m3
While Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged Man of the Match for his splendid all-round performance, off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went past the legendary Kapil Dev (434 wickets) to become the second-highest wicket taker for India in Tests.
Overall, it was a memorable game for Team India, who will be looking to complete yet another series whitewash under skipper Rohit Sharma. The MI skipper has been unstoppable ever since taking over the reins from Virat Kohli across all formats of the game.
The two teams will face-off against each other for one final time in this series at Bengaluru from March 12. It will be the third day-night Test match to be played in India after the Test matches against Bangladesh in 2019 (Kolkata) and England in 2021 (Ahmedabad).