Ravindra Jadeja becomes second Indian with this record against Australia
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has completed 100 wickets at home against Australia in international cricket. The 34-year-old reached this landmark with his first wicket in India's 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Jadeja has become only the second Indian with 100 international wickets against the Men in Yellow at home. Here are the key stats.
Why does this story matter?
In an illustrious career spanning over a decade, one of India's finest off-spinners, Harbhajan Singh truly dominated the Australian batters. Before this match, he was the only Indian to have taken 100 or more wickets against Australia across formats at home. Left-arm spinner Jadeja has now joined Harbhajan on this elite list. He attained this feat after knocking over Australian batter Steven Smith.
Breakdown of 100 wickets
Jadeja completed 100 international wickets against Australia in his 41st home encounter. As many as 28 of these wickets have come in ODIs. Jadeja's bowling record against Australia in Tests (home) is astonishing. In just 12 Tests, the Indian all-rounder has 71 wickets at an incredible average of 18.28. The tally includes five fifers. His remaining one wicket against Australia has come in T20Is.
Only other bowler with this feat
Overall, England's Stuart Broad is the only bowler to have taken over 100 international wickets against Australia at home. He owns 128 wickets in this regard. Harbhajan (105) and Jadeja follow Broad on this list.
India restrict Australia to 199
India restricted Australia to 199/10 in their opening 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup fixture in Chennai. The Aussie batters struggled on a sturdy Chepauk deck where both pacers and spinners made merry. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja did the damage by taking three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav took two. Steven Smith, who scored 46, was Australia's top-scorer.
Jadeja's first three-fer in WC
Smith and Marnus Labuschagne got Australia past 100 after David Warner and Mitchell Marsh departed. Although Australia looked set at 110/2, they couldn't find boundaries. Jadeja exerted further pressure by dismissing Smith and Labuschagne in quick succession. The Indian spinner also removed Alex Carey for a duck. Jadeja picked his first three-fer in the World Cup, having conceded 28 runs in 10 overs.
The Jadeja-Smith battle
Jadeja dismissed Smith for the 11th time in international cricket. Notably, Broad is the only other bowler to have removed Smith over 10 times (14). Among Indians, Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin follow Jadeja (eight each). As per Bharath Seervi, Jadeja has now dismissed Smith five times in 2023 (Nagpur Test, Indore Test, Ahmedabad Test, WTC final, and WC 2023).
Jadeja attains these feats
Jadeja now has the third-most wickets in India vs Australia ODIs (37). He overtook Ajit Agarkar, who owns 36 wickets in this regard. Kapil Dev (45) and Mohammed Shami (38) occupy the top two spots, respectively. As per Cricbuzz, Jadeja's 3/28 are the best bowling figures by an Indian spinner against Australia in an ODI World Cup match.
