My Plan Was To Bowl Into Stumps & Was Enjoying It: Ravindra Jadeja

“I think I was enjoying my bowling,” said India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the post-match presentation.

India defeated Australia by six wickets in the second Border-Gavaskar Test today (February 19) at Delhi. This win helped the hosts take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

Jadeja, who was adjudged the Player of the Match, for picking up a seven-wicket haul in the second innings and three in the first said that his plan was to bowl into the stumps.

“These wickets suit me because the odd ball spins and some stay low. I knew they’d play sweeps and reverse sweeps, so my idea was just keeping it simple and straight. I knew they were looking for runs, so the plan was just bowling into the stumps. If they make a mistake, I have a chance. Don’t think the sweep is a good option against me on this kind of wicket,” said Jadeja in the post-match presentation.

India skipper Rohit Sharma was elated with the team’s win and credited the bowlers for doing a commendable job.

“Fantastic result for us. Looking at how things were yesterday, the way we came back and finished our job was great. Even if we were just one run behind, I felt we were trailing because we had to bat last. I think the bowlers were fantastic, to take nine wickets today morning is commendable. And then we finished the job with the bat,” said Rohit.

“On a pitch like this, people need to do something different. We were prepared for them coming out and playing shots. Our idea was to not panic and just hit the right areas, waiting for the mistake to happen and that’s exactly what happened. Every game you play in this type of weather, there is some moisture. What I noticed is there is a lot to offer in the first session, but as it goes on it gets slower and there isn’t enough bite. So our focus was keeping it tight in the morning, and these guys are the masters of bowling in these conditions.”

Speaking about the game-changing moment, the 35-year-old said: “There are lots of moments across four innings, but I thought the partnership between Jadeja and Virat, and then Axar-Ash was brilliant. I think that’s a big help because of the balance we have created for ourselves.”

Meanwhile, India head coach Rahul Dravid felt that Rohit has been brilliant as captain and has a lot of respect in the dressing room.

“I think he has been brilliant. He has the respect of the dressing room. He is one of those guys who has been there for a long time. The kind of person who doesn’t speak a lot, but when he does they all listen. He deeply cares a lot about the dressing room and the players. We are very lucky to have Rohit take over the leadership from someone like Virat,” said Dravid after the match.

While speaking about the turning point of the match, the 50-year-old said: “This Test match moved up and down, but today morning it moved really quickly for us. I think it was the partnership between Axar and Ashwin that changed things. We wanted to chase something close to 200-225 and that partnership enabled us to get back, or we’d have been trailing.”