Ace Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returned to the playing XI against Sri Lanka after a long injury haul. He was back among the wickets in the first game on Thursday in Lucknow as India clinched a convincing victory.
Defending 199 runs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave India a flying start before Ravindra Jadeja was introduced into the attack in the eighth over. He went for nine runs in his first over, including getting hit for a six.
He got the better of Chandimal in the 10th over when he got the better of Chandiman with a sharp turn. Dinesh Chandimal ran at the bowler and Ravindra Jadeja was clever to drop it short. The batsman couldn’t adjust for the extra turn and it turned big to beat the outside edge.
It was one of the easiest stumpings for Ishan Kishan. And Jadeja celebrates the wicket with the Thaggedhe Le gesture from the famous Telugu movie Pushpa.
Watch the clip here:
https://twitter.com/addicric/status/1496883496203132931?s=20&t=vYC3Q1VHoc75SB_PJKi8Ug
India produced a compact performance with the ball to restrict Sri Lanka to 137/6 to go 1-0 up in the match. Charith Asalanka was the lone warrior for the Islanders remaining unbeaten on 53 from 47 deliveries.
Venkatesh Iyer and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up two wickets each while Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal scalped one apiece.
I want him to bat up the order more – Rohit Sharma on Ravindra Jadeja
Indian captain Rohit Sharma was seemingly happy to have Jadeja back in the mix. The 34-year-old cricketer revealed that the southpaw is likely to bat up in the batting order up more than not.
“Very happy with Jadeja’s return. We want more from him that is why we asked him to bat higher. You will see that happening more and more in the games that he plays for India. I want him to bat up the order more. He is a very improved batter, so we will try and see if we can promote him going forward,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
