'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja 2.0: Armed and dangerous

MUMBAI: It's a dismissal which best describes why he's India's lethal weapon. Poor Hashim Amla's woes were brought to the fore cruelly in the second innings of the first Test at Mohali. With South Africa battling to save the game, the skipper left a seemingly harmless delivery which crashed into his middle stump. The moment marked a stamp of triumph for 'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja.
On yet another comeback trail, this 26-year-old has forged a terrific partnership with the in-form R Ashwin and Amit Mishra, having taken 16 wickets in three Tests against the baffled Proteas. There have been a couple of crucial cameos off his bat too, which have mattered a lot in these low-scoring contests.
It is indeed, strange how this Saurashtra cricketer's performances, both with the bat, ball and even in the field where he's usually brilliant, or even his $1 million price tag which didn't stop the Chennai Super Kings from buying him in the IPL auction a few years back, still fail to elevate his status in the eyes of a few experts of the game.
He took six consecutive five wicket hauls in domestic cricket to force his way back, but the effort was run down as being a product of underprepared pitches.

Jadeja has forged a terrific partnership with Ashwin and Mishra. (AFP Photo)
What makes Jadeja so dangerous on turners? Bowling on such wickets, after all, is an art too. "He's unplayable on a turner. I've not seen a left-arm spinner who won't bowl a single ball outside leg stump in his entire spell, but would keep firing it on the stumps," says former Saurashtra coach Debu Mitra, who's seen a fair bit of him. "He's the best that we have for these conditions. In fact, as it happened with the SA batsmen, he leaves you confused about whether to leave or play the ball. If it doesn't turn and you leave it, you meet Amla's fate. And if it turns, you can easily edge it. He's economical, and can bowl long spells," feels former Saurashtra batsman-turned coach Shitanshu Kotak.
"In these conditions, he's a sure-shot match-winner. And that's because he's accurate. He bowls side-on, which creates a difficult angle, which creates plenty of doubts in the minds of batsmen," said former India leg spinner Narendra Hirwani, who feels that Jadeja's presence has made Ashwin even more dangerous. "He has kept things tight and applied pressure from one end, which has allowed Ashwin to bowl more freely. Vice-versa, sometimes batsmen take a chance against Jadeja because they can't do so against Ashwin, and perish in the process. It's a perfect bowling partnership," he says.
More than the skills to succeed on a particular wicket, Jadeja's dream comeback also talks about a steely resolve. "He's a determined cricketer. He doesn't believe in giving interviews or playing up his chances in the press, which gets misconstrued as arrogance. Nor does he bother about how others are performing. Before the season, he told me: "If I perform, I'm sure l will be in the Indian team.' He has the right attitude for a top-level cricketer.
"He'll put in the same kind of effort for Saurashtra which he would for the Indian team," said ​Kotak.