There is Ben Stokes. There is Cameron Green. There is Ravichandran Ashwin. There is Daryl Mitchell. The list is endless but former England captain Michael Vaughan called Ravindra Jadeja the best all-rounder of the world after he played a pivotal role in putting India in the driver’s seat in the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. Jadeja, who picked up three wickets with the ball to help India bowl England out for 246 on Day 1, smashed an unbeaten 81 on Day 2 with the bat. He added an unbroken 63 runs with Axar Patel (35) for the eighth wicket as India reached 421/7 at stumps with a healthy lead of 175.
“He has to be the best allrounder in the world at the moment @imjadeja,” Vaughan wrote on his X handle (formerly Twitter).
The former England was not too far off from a fair assessment. India’s ascendancy to the top on a slightly tacky pitch was more tectonic and Jadeja’s risk-managing abilities played a huge role in it.
In one sense, the situation was ideal for the left-hander, who loves a scrap in the middle. When Jadeja came to bat, Rahul was in full flight and he joined the party with a few blows of his own.
In fact, the initial 40 balls he faced produced 35 runs as India first closed the gap with England and then swiftly moved into the lead.
But Rahul’s dismissal for a 123-ball 86 forced Jadeja to transform his approach. India’s lead was still only 42 then, and the home side needed him to bat long to construct more floors above that fledgling foundation.
Jadeja did precisely that. He slowed down indeed, but not to that extend of confining himself into a shell and opened up whenever England bowlers erred in their lengths.
A daring hoick off left-arm spinner Tom Hartley over long-on for a six and a flowing off-drive off leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed for a four showcased his power and touch.
England bowlers were all in spirit and optimism while bowling and appealing throughout the day, but they lacked consistency in hitting the right spot, except Joe Root, who is more than a part-timer in these conditions.
It came as no surprise then that it was Root who put Jadeja in the most unpleasant situation during his knock. The spinner wrapped Jadeja’s pads and umpire Paul Reiffel upheld the shout for leg-before.
But the DRS found a massive inside edge as Jadeja survived at 49. He duly completed his 20th Test fifty in 84 balls when he peeled three runs off Root.
The only sore point during his otherwise assured stay was a calamitous mix-up which resulted in the run out of R Ashwin, as Jadeja sold a dummy, jogging a few steps before turning his back only to find his spin bowling partner standing right next to him.