Ravindra Jadeja once again displayed his class at Edgbaston, Birmingham, with a composed and valuable knock of 89 runs off 137 balls. His innings included 10 boundaries and a six, played at a strike rate of 64.96.
Jadeja came to the crease when India was struggling at 211/5 but remained calm under pressure, going on to build a crucial 203-run partnership with young captain Shubman Gill.
Although he narrowly missed out on his fifth Test century, Jadeja’s contribution was instrumental in pushing India past the 400-run mark. By lunch on Day 2 of the second Test, India had reached 419/6.
Jadeja’s Love Affair with Edgbaston Continues
Edgbaston continues to be a happy hunting ground for Jadeja. During India’s previous Test at this venue in 2022, he scored a brilliant 104 off 194 balls, which included 13 boundaries at a strike rate of 53.60. He had then stitched together a memorable 222-run stand with Rishabh Pant.
This time around, Jadeja achieved a historic milestone as he became the first cricketer in World Test Championship (WTC) history to score 2,000 runs and take 100 wickets. Heading into this Test, he needed just 79 more runs to cross the 2,000-run mark. With his 89-run knock, he now has 2,010 runs from 41 WTC matches at an average close to 40, along with 132 wickets at 25.92.
Jadeja’s innings was eventually cut short by Josh Tongue, who delivered a sharp short ball that Jadeja could only fend to the wicketkeeper.
With Shubman Gill still unbeaten on a double century, India will look to pile on as many runs as possible and take the game further away from England’s reach.
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz