INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
Jadeja scored 89 off 137, pushing his partnership with Gill to 203 runs © Getty
Ravindra Jadeja said he arrived early at Edgbaston on Day 2 to get in some extra batting before play began. India were 310 for 5 overnight on a pitch still good for batting, but with the second new ball only five overs old, the morning session needed careful navigation. Jadeja and captain Shubman Gill did just that, stretching their partnership from 99 to 203.
“Somewhere I felt that I should go and bat extra because the ball was still new,” Jadeja said after stumps, having fallen 11 short of a fifth Test century. “I felt if I can see the new ball off, it would become easy for the rest of the innings. Luckily I could [almost] bat till lunch, and then Washi[ngton Sundar] also batted well with Shubman. The more you bat in England, the better it is because you never feel you are set in England. At any time a ball can swing and take your edge or bowl you.”
Jadeja’s admission of having travelled independently to the ground might appear to clash with the BCCI’s SOPs, which instruct players to travel with the team. However, such exceptions are allowed with prior approval from the head coach and the chairman of selectors. “All players are expected to travel with the team to and from matches and practice sessions. Separate travel arrangements with families are discouraged to maintain discipline and team cohesion. Exceptions, if any, must be pre approved by the head coach and Chairman of the Selection Committee,” the SOP reads.
After getting stuck with the lower order during India’s twin collapses at Headingley, Jadeja got a chance to bat with a well-set batter in Gill and show off his own batting standards, helping India post a mammoth total of 587. “When you contribute with the bat for the team, it feels great, when you are playing outside India, and the team needs you more, it feels good,” Jadeja said.
“From 210 for 5 to put together a big partnership to take the team forward, it is a challenge. I took it as a challenge. If you can stick around with the captain and put together a big partnership, it gives you confidence as a cricketer and a batter that in the coming matches also you can contribute. When we were batting together, we were only talking about partnership. That we will keep batting long and we will keep talking to each other. That was the conversation between the two of us.”
That stand wasn’t without its flashpoints. Jadeja drew the ire of England captain Ben Stokes, who complained to the umpires about him running into the danger area after front-foot shots.
“He felt I was making rough for myself,” Jadeja said. “The fast bowlers were doing it anyway. I don’t need to do that. He was repeatedly telling the umpire that I am running on the wicket. I had no such intention. It might have happened once or twice by mistake, but I didn’t mean to.”
Looking ahead, India’s bowling group, including two spinners, will need help from the pitch to force a result. So far, there’s been little turn or uneven bounce.
“I think the wicket is good. For batters it’s good. There is not much going on off the wicket, you have to keep it tight. And you’ll need in-out fields, because there are a lot of chances of the balls going to the boundary. But tomorrow will be Day 3. So, I think the wicket, as it played the first two days, it might not stay the same. There may be a little [uneven] bounce up and down.”
© Cricbuzz
