Ravindra Jadeja shines with 77 in rain-marred Gabba Test
Ravindra Jadeja was at his best as India successfully avoided a follow-on against Australia in the ongoing third Test at The Gabba, Brisbane. The southpaw was unfortunate to miss out on a ton as he was dismissed for 77 in the final session of Day 4. Notably, the second session was marred by continuous rain, stopping play for a while. Before the interruption, Jadeja and Nitish Reddy tackled Australia's bowling attack well.
Rahul's half-century and Hazlewood's injury
The day started with KL Rahul and skipper Rohit Sharma resuming India's innings. Rahul took full advantage of Steven Smith's dropped catch to score authoritative cover drives, while Rohit was dismissed for 10 by Alex Carey. Nevertheless, Rahul kept the Australian bowlers under pressure, scoring his 17th Test fifty. Australia suffered a blow as bowler Josh Hazlewood left the field with a suspected calf injury.
Jadeja recorded two 50-plus stands
With Hazlewood out, Rahul and Jadeja capitalized on the weakened Australian attack. They added 67 runs for the sixth wicket. However, Rahul's innings ended at 84 when Smith redeemed himself with a stunning one-handed catch off Nathan Lyon's bowling. Nitish Reddy then joined Jadeja at the crease and quickly got off the mark with a boundary. The duo added 53 runs before Pat Cummins trapped Reddy for 16.
Jadeja's half-century celebration as India avoid follow on
Meanwhile, Jadeja celebrated his hard-earned half-century with his iconic sword celebration. Cummins, however, cut short his stay soon after tea. India were 213/9 at the time of Jadeja's dismissal. As the Aussies posted 445/10 batting first, the visitors needed to touch the 246-run mark to avoid a follow-on. They managed to do so as Jasprit Bumrah (10*) and Akash Deep (27*) helped the hosts finish Day 4 at 252/9.
22nd Test fifty for Jadeja
Meanwhile, Jadeja's 123-ball 77 was laced with seven fours and a maximum. As per ESPNcricinfo, this was Jadeja's 22nd Test fifty as his tally also includes four tons. He has raced to 3,312 runs across 78 Tests at 35.61. 647 of his runs have come against the Aussies at 30.80 as this was his sixth fifty against them. Jadeja has scored 252 Test runs at 50.40 Down Under with three fifties in six innings.
Here are his bowling numbers
Jadeja, who is a left-arm spinner, also owns 319 Test scalps, averaging 24.05. He has 15 fifers. Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin and Kapil Dev are the only other Indian all-rounders with the double of 3,000 runs and 250 wickets in Test cricket. The 36-year-old, who was benched for the first two Tests, bowled 23 wicket-less overs in Australia's first innings.
