Wisden’s men’s Test spell of 2023, No.3: Ravindra Jadeja – 7-42 (12.1)

India vs Australia
2nd Test, February 17-19
Feroz Shah Stadium, New Delhi

As Matthew Kuhnemann reverse-swept Ravindra Jadeja only to guide the ball back onto his stumps, the Australian faces portrayed a baffled picture as they lost control of a game they had dominated largely.

The tourists, having reduced India to 139-7 with a substantial 124-run lead still left from the first innings, witnessed a spirited comeback from the hosts as they narrowed the gap to one run. But at 61-1 at the end of day two on a wicket that had started showing considerable cracks, Australia were still ahead. India’s batting woes had been on display in the series thus far, the team only to be saved by a bout of individual brilliance each time, and batting last on the track was going to be tricky.

Read Also: All eyes are on Ashwin but Jadeja may steal the show again

But the illusion of control would crumble after only 90 minutes and 110 balls the next morning thanks to the collective wizardry of the world’s most deceptive spin pairing—R Ashwin and Jadeja.

It started with off-spinner Ashwin dismantling Travis Head, who looked to Bazball his way in the tough conditions, and subsequently, Steve Smith, before Jadeja entered and weaved his mastery in just his second game after a five-month injury layoff that saw him undergo knee surgery.

His skill in sticking to a consistent line and length, coupled with slight variations in pace and an unchanged action, always makes him tough to face. Not a prodigious spinner of the ball, he looks to target the fourth-stump line, leaving right-handers in perpetual uncertainty.

As the cracks on the pitch expanded in New Delhi, Jadeja exploited the rough patches, delivering from a wider stance around the sixth-stump line to left-handers, inducing confusion in their minds between balls that would keep straight and turn away.

Even the typically composed Marnus Labuschagne succumbed to the pressure, attempting a late cut only to direct the ball back onto the stumps.

From 95-3, Australia rapidly unravelled, each batsman succumbing to ill-advised shots, with Labuschagne’s misguided late cut followed by Matt Renshaw’s premature attempt to sweep, resulting in a leg-before-wicket dismissal to Ashwin. The remaining five scalps all went to Jadeja: Peter Handscomb fell to some lovely bowling by the left-hander, driving the full ball at the middle stump to slip while Pat Cummins played a big sweep as he anticipated the ball turning away but was caught in a weave as the fuller length delivery slid in instead.

Alex Carey continued playing the reverse sweep, despite the bowler admitting the risk of playing such a shot against him, only to miss completely and have the ball knock out his leg-stump instead.

Nathan Lyon and Kuhnemann fell to atrocious shots, giving Jadeja his best Test figures, helping him reach the milestone in only 12.1 overs and see him climb higher in the list of all-time all-rounder greats.

What the spell also did was prove that Jadeja’s days of playing under the shadows of Ashwin were over. Far too often, Jadeja has been regarded as the second spinner, his successes being swept under the radar as Ashwin continued his supremacy. The left-armer’s impact was considered by his batting weightage over his bowling excellence, which was also attributed to Ashwin and the pressure he created on the rivals that helped Jadeja get the wickets instead of his own might.

Co-winning the Player of the Series award with Ashwin, then, after the four Tests showed that Jadeja had carved out his own space and was ready to soar, helping him shed the tag of an underrated star that had lingered for too long.