Ravindra Jadeja was promoted at number five on day one of the Oval Test on Thursday. However, he had diminishing returns scoring 10 off 34 deliveries and adding a 30-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli (50). Many connotations are added to Jadeja’s promotion, however, all of them are observations with no authentic reason behind them.
In between the breaks and in the discussion after the first day’s play, cricket experts tried to decipher the reason behind Ravindra Jadeja. The debate was started by Sanjay Manjrekar who has a little bit of history with Jadeja. He said that the left-hander was not capable of batting at number five and is not a better batsman than either of Rishabh Pant or Ajinkya Rahane.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain feels it could have been a tactical move from India, to go ahead with the right-hand, left-hand combination, and the fact that Jadeja is a pretty good batsman.
“I don’t know the reason. I heard the debate over whether Ajinkya went to the loo. But Jadeja was ready, so he must have been told. So it was more a tactical move,” Hussain told Sony Sports during Lunch on Day 1.
Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar also echoed Hussains’s words saying he also felt that it was a tactical decision to maintain the left-right batting combination. When asked as to why Rishabh Pant wasn’t sent ahead of Jadeja, Gavaskar said that Pant’s run of low scores in the series might have prevented the management from doing so.
In another debate that started with the promotion of Ravindra Jadeja was that if the team management is starting to look beyond Rahane or are they looking to prevent him given his recent poor run.
“Ajinkya Rahane came in and sat and put on his gloves. He may have been on a toilet break. Maybe they didn’t want to send Pant. Maybe he has been demoted down the order. Jadeja has batted longer in this series than Pant,” Gavaskar said on the Sony Sports Network.
Joe Root’s Wicket Gives India Edge On Day 1
MASSIVE moment in the day as Umesh Yadav sneaks one past Root’s forward defence to disturb the woodwork.
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In the meantime, Joe Root’s wicket late in the day by Umesh Yadav has brought the match right back in the balance. England ended day 1 on 53/3 still trailing by 128 runs. This also sets up an entertaining day’s play on day 2.
Also Read: Virender Sehwag Reveals The Toughest Bowler He Had Faced In His Career
