India and Australia faced off in their first match in the ongoing World Cup. India’s star all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, achieved a remarkable milestone in the team’s opening match against Australia at the ongoing ODI World Cup in Chennai.
The 34-year-old secured three crucial wickets at his Indian Premier League (IPL) home venue, bringing his total international wicket count against Australia to 102.
This achievement places him as the third bowler in cricket history to claim a century of wickets against Australia, and he reached this milestone in just 40 matches.
In this elite list, the former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh secures the second position with 105 wickets in 37 matches. At the top of the chart stands the experienced England fast bowler Stuart Broad, having taken 128 wickets in 41 games.
Jadeja’s three-wicket haul limits Australia to 199 runs
In the match, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah made an early breakthrough by removing opener Mitchell Marsh, who scored zero from six balls in the third over.
David Warner, in good form, partnered with Steve Smith to stabilize Australia’s innings until Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Warner, who had reached 41 runs. Ravindra Jadeja made a significant impact by breaking the partnership between Marnus Labuschagne and Smith.
He dismissed Smith, who had scored 46 runs, in the 28th over. In the 30th over, he claimed the key wicket of Labuschagne (27) while the batter was attempting a sweep. In the same over, he also had Alex Carey out LBW for a duck, putting Australia in a challenging position during the middle overs.
Apart from Jadeja’s crucial contributions, Kuldeep Yadav (2/42) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/34) took three wickets combined. Additionally, Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya each secured one wicket. Notably, Australia adopted a cautious approach in their innings, especially on a pitch where scoring runs proved to be difficult.
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