Ravindra Jadeja played yet another crucial hand to put India in a dominant position against England, writes Aadya Sharma.

For about half of day two, Ravindra Jadeja spent his time at the non-striker’s end clutching his gloves with his bare left hand. When he ran, he’d have the bat in one hand and the gloves hanging like a bunch of grapes in the other. He took them off and put them back on every time he took strike. It might look monotonous, but Jadeja clearly doesn’t mind it.

You can’t really tire Jadeja with the seemingly mundane stuff – he can spend hours dead-batting deliveries in Test cricket, a virtue he has become extremely good at, sticking around for long passages, especially around the tail. Since 2018, he’s batted at least 30 deliveries in 16 out of his 20 innings at home. In seven of those, he has played over 100.

The progression of Jadeja, the batter, has been a distinct upward curve. From his Test debut against the touring England team in 2012, up until the end of 2017, Jadeja averaged 32.08 at home, a number that’s gone up to 57.53 since.

In these last six years, Jadeja’s development has been clear to see. The defence has become sturdy and difficult to invade, the strokes have become crispier and wide ranging, the distinction between forward and backward movement is clear. Technically, it’s been a lot of work. It’s probably an understated aspect of India’s success: Jadeja’s role will never give him enough time to score headline-defining daddy hundreds.

It’s helped India through different phases: he has been the cover when Ajinkya Rahane fell out of form at No.5, when R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha briefly lost their batting verve, when India were switching between wicketkeepers, and now, in Rishabh Pant’s absence.

There are two broad scenarios when Jadeja comes out to bat: either India’s top three or four have departed with a rescue act needed, or India have already built a platform, ready to launch into a big score. Jadeja has developed to do both roles with aplomb.

In Tests, Ravi Jadeja averages 36 with the bat and 24 with the ball.

He’s also arguably the best fielder in the game right now.

IMHO, should be spoken about as one of the all-time all-rounders.#bbccricket

— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) January 26, 2024

In the 2021 Kanpur Test, India had slipped to 145-4 against New Zealand, when alongside debutant Shreyas Iyer, Jadeja put on a 121-run stand, crucial to a first-innings lead and an eventual draw that was just one wicket away from being a win.

In Mohali against Sri Lanka in 2022, India were on 175-4, but ended up declaring on 574-6. Jadeja thumped a ruthless, unbeaten 175, giving space for Pant to go ballistic with his 95-ball 96.

The other role has seen him take on a much quicker avatar. Against South Africa in 2019, he scored at a strike rate of 87, crunching 91 runs to give Virat Kohli company for his career-best 254. India went from 376-4 to 601-5 before declaring. Against Bangladesh later that year, when Mayank Agarwal’s double century needed some lower-order support, Jadeja pushed through with a brisk 60 off 76, taking them close to 500.

Against England in Hyderabad, Jadeja had to do a bit of both. When Shreyas Iyer fell, India were already close to clearing up the lead. A mini-collapse, though, could have undone much of the hard work.

With KL Rahul already settled, Jadeja didn’t mind having a little go at the English slow bowlers, two of which were left-arm spinners, much to his liking. Off his first 20 balls, he fetched 17 runs, two fours and a six in there. By the time Rahul holed out, he had marched to 34 off 38.

Over the next phase of play, Jadeja bore a more circumspect role. For the next 28 balls, he didn’t hit a single boundary, happily dabbing the ball back or tucking it around for easy singles. The fifty came off the 84th ball.

By this time, India had slowly pulled the game away from England, the lead now close to 100. Along with the equally sedate KS Bharat, he decided to ground them bit by bit.

From Rahul’s dismissal, in the next 100 balls he faced, Jadeja added just 39 runs, dropping his bat to indulge in the highly mundane process of knocking the ball about. He couldn’t be shaken. Jadeja was driving the tempo how he wanted. Axar Patel, at the other end, got the freedom to repeatedly clear the infield, giving India a 175-run lead. In his own way, Jadeja had pushed India firmly ahead.
Even deep into the third session, he couldn’t be moved by whatever England threw at him.

When Mark Wood came back for his first spell with the second new ball, hoping to cause some trouble, Jadeja remained just as unbothered. There was a short mid-wicket, a short square leg, a short fine leg and a deep square leg, a clear attempt to check his skills against the short ball. A gully and a deep backward point ensured he couldn’t easily run the ball down the way he likes to. By now, Jadeja’s grind had ensured the pitch had eased up, and the sole fast bowler of the team was easy to navigate.

“At no time has he looked anything other than a proper top-order batter,” remarked Harsha Bhogle, as Jadeja brought out a solid forward defence in the dying embers of the day.

Close to the end, the tourists could only go through the motions. With less than half an hour to go, Jadeja called substitute Rajat Patidar to deliver his cap, knowing Wood won’t be coming back. At the non-striker’s end, he repeatedly tapped his bat, once even checking with the umpire how much time was left in the day. When a Rehan Ahmed delivery kept dangerously low, Axar and Jadeja laughed, probably imagining the mayhem they’d cause when they bowl next. Imagine the command he’d enjoy when they play at his home town in Rajkot.

Jadeja, the bowler, has been one of the mightiest pillars of India’s Test success at home in the last decade. But if it wasn’t for the incredible growth of Jadeja, the batter, they wouldn’t have enjoyed the balance of a robust middle order.

It takes you back to the time when Jadeja had just started playing for India, and was a handy batter at best. On commentary, Bhogle recalled an interview of his from 2010/11, when he asked Jadeja what he sees himself as.

“I am a batsman. I bowl, but I am a batsman,” Jadeja insisted.

He really is both, and the Indian team can’t be more thankful.