At the end of England’s innings in the first ODI in Nagpur, an interesting stat caught one’s attention – Ravindra Jadeja ended up bowling 38 deliveries on the stumps and took three wickets for the cost of only 18 runs. As a variation, he bowled 16 deliveries outside the off stump and gave away a mere eight runs. This particular strategy serves as the essence of his success, especially in conditions where there is any help for the spinners. It shouldn’t come as a major surprise that Jadeja bagged three wickets for a mere 26 runs in Nagpur.
The first two offerings of his initial spell itself told you everything you would want to know about Jadeja’s methods. He started with a delivery that went straight on. The very next ball turned a hint and away from the right-hand batter. That tried-and-tested method soon helped him reap the reward with Joe Root trapped in front, playing back to a delivery that went on with the arm. It is a tactic that Jadeja has employed with some success against England’s mainstay in the past.
On a Nagpur deck that was offering just enough grip and turn in the first innings, Jadeja basically became the king of side-spin and the straighter one. To make matters worse for the batters, there isn’t much to pick from his grip in order to gauge which delivery would turn enough off the deck.
Yes, there is stiff competition in the spin department, especially with the likes of Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav in the mix. There is also a school of thought that India should look for variety in the spin attack. And with Axar perhaps having more shots in the armour for this format, he could edge out the other left-arm spinner in Jadeja. However, Jadeja isn’t the kind of cricketer who will give up his spot without a fight. His splendid show in Nagpur epitomised that.