Ravindra Jadeja continues to be one of the senior members of India's young Test team, with the captain Shubman Gill still to turn 26 and a number of his teammates yet to hit their 30th birthday. And at 37, Jadeja is now seeing the end of his international career as one of the longest-serving players alongside Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Jadeja has played 89 Tests, scoring 4,095 runs and taking 348 wickets, making him one of India's most enduring all-rounders. However, Jadeja feels that his batting would have improved if he had batted higher up the order more often.
Ravindra Jadeja Reveals How Batting at No. 8 and no. 9 Affected Him
Ravindra Jadeja produced a stellar comeback with the bat to post a brilliant knock of 132. The veteran all-rounder has a first-class batting average of more than 60, including three triple-centuries and two other centuries and half-century scores.
“If you see my entire Ranji Trophy career, the average is more than 60; I have three triple centuries and two 250-plus scores.
If you look at the Ranji and the Duleep Trophy, my first-class cricket average is more than 60,” he said while talking to the host broadcasters.
Furthermore, Jadeja said that he was feeling low whenever he had to bat at 7th or lower positions in the batting order, mainly while partnering with the tail-enders.
“I had situations in my mind where if I bat higher up the order, you have that ability there; nothing is left when you bat at No. 9,” he added.
He also said that whenever he had to face the ball at lower positions, the situation and the manner in which he had to adjust his game affected his morale.
“Even in Tests now, the situation is similar to T20S or ODIs, and there have been instances where I have batted at No. 8 and No. 9. So, when you are in the dressing room with your pads on, and next to you, a fast bowler is picking the balls, seeing all these things would bring down my morale and confidence,” he concluded.
Ravindra Jadeja's remark comes at a critical juncture in his Test career. While India looks to build a young team around Gill in the years to come, Jadeja's vast experience would be handy in the years to come.
Also read: India's Late Declaration Curse: 3 Test Matches That Still Haunt Team India
India's bowlers made the Lankan batting lineup look ordinary as Sri Lanka posted a disastrous total of 99 for 5 at Galle during the third morning. Jadeja also contributed with the ball as India posted a healthy score of 462 for 9 in the first innings, after being bundled out for 460, shortly after resuming on the second day.
Prasidh Krishna got one of the most vital wickets for India when he was caught at slip by the fourth over. Devdutt Padikkal remained the stand-out performer in the department, scoring 167, with two half-centuries in the first two days of the match. KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel chipped in with handy knocks of 82 and 51 runs respectively.
India's bowlers made the visitors' openers look exceptionally ordinary as the lanky left-arm spinner, Manav Suthar bagged two quick wickets with a patient and disciplined bowling performance. Mohammed Siraj bowled a brilliant spell to remove Nishan Fernando for a duck on the second delivery of the innings.
Furthermore, Kuldeep and Jadeja picked one wicket each as Sri Lanka reeled at 99 for 5 by lunch, with not a single opener managing to get past the 30-run mark. The hosts' bowling attack looks fearful with a mix of young legs pacemen and experienced off-spinners such as Kuldeep and Jadeja.