Indian national cricket team all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja spoke about completing 300 wickets for the team in Test cricket. He said he is proud of himself because people always called him a white ball specialist and he is happy to improve his game.
Ravindra Jadeja, on Monday (September 30), achieved a great feat in Test cricket. The all-rounder completed his 300 wickets in the longest format of the game for the Indian National Cricket Team, becoming the team’s seventh player to complete the feat.
Ravindra Jadeja achieved the feat when he removed Bangladesh bowler Khaled Ahmed in his 10th over of the first innings of the ongoing second Test against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team. The match between the teams begins at the Green Park in Kanpur.
Jadeja, who has been the highest match-winner for India in Test cricket, also became the first Indian left-arm spinner to achieve the feat. In his 74th Test match, he became the fourth-fastest Indian to 300 wickets, joining Ravichandran Ashwin (54 matches), Anil Kumble (66 matches) and Harbhajan Singh (72 matches).
While talking about his milestone, Jadeja said that he started his career as a white-ball cricketer and is proud of himself for the way he achieved 300 wickets. Speaking to broadcasters after the end of day 4, he explained:
“It’s special (300 Test wickets). I have been playing Test cricket for 10 years and I have finally reached this milestone. I feel proud of myself. Always happy and excited every time I wear the Indian jersey. When I was young, “I started in white-ball cricket. “Everyone used to say I’m a white-ball specialist.”
I always look to give myself some time and understand the situation – Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja mentioned that his hard work over the years has paid off. He also spoke about his batting, saying that he seeks to understand the situation and reacts according to the ball. While talking about the game plan, he explained:
“Little by little I improved my game and that has paid off in recent years. When I go to bat, I always try to give myself some time and understand the situation. I react to the ball and play my shots. We batted very well. What we planned , we did it accordingly. Hopefully we can get them out as soon as possible.”
Not only this, Ravindra Jadeja also completed double of 3000 runs and 300 wickets. He became the second fastest to achieve the feat after Ian Botham did so in 72 Tests. In total, the all-rounder has 3,130 tests performed at 36.39 with four hundreds and 21 half-centuries. He has chosen 300 plots with an average of 24.
Jadeja will be extremely important for the Indian team ahead of the Test season. They will play New Zealand in three Tests in a row in a five-match series in Australia and if the team has to fancy their chances of winning, they need the all-rounder to fire.