Ravindra Jadeja 6 wickets away from achieving rare landmark in Test cricket
Ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is set to feature in India's playing XI for the first Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai starting Thursday, September 19. During the two-match series, Jadeja can also reach a rare landmark. If he picks up six wickets, he will become the third Indian to achieve the double of 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Test cricket.
The versatile 35-year-old has so far featured in 72 Test matches. He has claimed 294 wickets with his canny left-arm spin, averaging 24.13, with the aid of 13 five-fers and two 10-wicket match hauls. With the bat, he has scored 3,036 runs at a decent average of 36.14, with four hundreds and 20 half-centuries.
So far, only two Indians have achieved the double 3,000 runs and 300 wickets in Test cricket. The legendary Kapil Dev was the first to do so. He played 131 Test matches in which he claimed 434 wickets at an average of 29.64. With the bat, the Haryana Hurricane scored 5,248 runs at an average of 31.05.
Jadeja's spin-bowling partner Ravichandran Ashwin is the second Indian to achieve the rare feat. The off-spinner has so far featured in exactly 100 Tests. He has picked up 516 wickets at an average of 23.75. With the bat, he has scored 3,309 runs at an average of 26.26, which includes five hundreds.
List of players with 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Tests
Overall, only 10 players have achieved the double of 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Test cricket. Apart from two Indians, the famed list includes two Englishmen, two Kiwis, and one each from Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.
Late Aussie spin wizard Shane Warne played 145 Tests, claiming 708 wickets and scoring 3,154 runs, with a best of 99. Former England pacer Stuart Broad picked up 604 wickets in 167 Tests. He also contributed 3,662 runs, averaging 18.03. Another England legend, all-rounder Ian Botham scored 5,200 runs in 102 Tests and picked up 383 scalps at an average of under 29.
Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori are two New Zealanders on the list. Hadlee claimed 431 wickets in only 86 matches at an average of 22.29. With the bat, he contributed 3,124 runs. Vettori played 113 Tests and claimed 362 wickets at an average of 34.36 apart from scoring 4,531 runs, with the aid of six tons.
South Africa's Shaun Pollock (421 wickets and 3,781 runs), Pakistan's Imran Khan (362 wickets and 3,807 runs) and Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas (355 wickets and 3,089 runs) are the other players to have achieved the double of 300 wickets and 3,000 runs in Test cricket.