India have won the fifth Test against England at Chennai by an innings and 75 runs. With the victory, the hosts have erased bitter memories of the defeats in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Everything worked well for Virat Kohli’s men, with the skipper being in his prime form with the bat. Not to forget India’s second triple centurion Karun Nair and words of encouragement for KL Rahul who missed a double ton by a run. While Ravichandran Ashwin was dreaded by the Poms throughout the series, one bowler mentions special applause. Ravindra Jadeja.
On a sunny day at Chepauk, England were comfortably placed at 97 without loss and inching towards a draw. Still trailing by 185 runs, the visitors had managed to frustrate the Indian bowlers by not making any mistake. The English ship was steady before being rocked by a storm called Jadeja.
Cook fell to the Saurashtra spinner for the sixth time in the career, edging him towards the leg-slip. Fellow opener Keaton Jennings too followed suit and the gates were open for the 28-year-old left-armer to go through the visiting team’s batting order. Jadeja took a career-best 7/48 in the fourth innings to help India clinch the series by a 4-0 margin.
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Besides the exploits with the ball, Jadeja showed his brilliance on the field. Hailed by the commentators for his quick reflexes, he reminded everyone of Kapil Dev’s memorable catch in the 1983 World Cup final. Johnny Bairtstow flicked Ishant Sharma towards the midwicket and Jaddu took a stunning catch.
In other words, a complete all-round performance. Jadeja scored a fifty, took a ten-wicket haul and grabbed four catches in the series. He is the first cricketer to do so. However, Jadeja is the second Indian after Kapil Dev to score a fifty and claim a ten-wicket haul. He ended the five-match series with a whopping 26 wickets, second only to Ravichandran Ashwin’s haul of 28. With the bat, he scored 224 runs including two crucial fifties.
