Ravindra Jadeja, better known as ‘Sir Ravindra Jadeja’ for his lively and entertaining acts on the field, on February 24 got the crowd swooning after he impersonated Australian batsman and skipper Steve Smith during the 2nd day of the first Test match in Pune.
Jadeja, who claimed two wickets so far in this match, was amused after his delivery spun much and went past the bat of the Australian captain who was batting on 21.
Day 2 started off on a good note for Indians after spin great Ravichandran Ashwin removed Mitchell Starc early, and as a result, the visitors were bowled out for 260. But, things changed quickly for the Indians as they struggled against the Aussies bowler and were bundled out for just 105 in their first innings. During this course, Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck.
It was for the first time in Kohli’s career that he was dismissed for a duck on the INDIAN SOIL. Plus, this was for the fifth time in his career that he got out without scoring a run which happened almost after three long years. Last time, Kohli departed for a duck in August 2014 vs England in Manchester.
Steve Smith and Co. came out to bat for the 2nd time in the day and by stumps, they were 143/4, with the skipper standing steadfast at 59.
Earlier this day, as soon as KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed after the lunch session, the entire scenario seemed to be going in the favour of the Aussies. Damaging the entire batting line-up, Steve O’Keefe took six-for and hunted down KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Jayant Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav and Umesh Yadav. Particularly after Rahane’s dismissal, the team was reduced 95/5 and half of the top order were in the pavilion. And after lunch, within 38 minutes, the entire Indian batting collapsed and the hosts were barred by the Kangaroos at 105 runs.
