“Not A Rank-Turner At All” – Ravindra Jadeja Opens Up On Nagpur Pitch

Team India spinner Ravindra Jadeja had a brilliant outing against Australia in the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy on Thursday, February 9 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. He took a five-wicket haul in the match, as the visitors were bowled out for 177 runs. Jadeja opened up about the nature of the pitch at the end of the first day’s play.

Before the start of the series, the nature of the wickets was a huge debate point. The Indian all-rounder expressed that the Nagpur wicket doesn’t have enough bounce and is on the slower side. However, he added that it could not be called a rank-turner. Ravindra Jadeja stated that as the game goes ahead, there might be more turn naturally off the wicket. Speaking in the press conference at the end of day 1, the Indian cricketer said,

“No no, this is not a rank-turner at all. There is less bounce and the wicket is slow compared to other pitches in India. It was not difficult to defend today. As the Test match progresses, we might see more turn, but that is natural everywhere.”

I was focussing on bowling stump to stump: Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja took the key wicket of Australian batter Steve Smith, who has a good record against India in Test matches. Smith played for the turn, but the ball went straight through and rattled the stumps. Speaking about his bowling strategy in the match, Ravindra Jadeja said,

“The ball was coming out of the hands well, the line and length were also good. The wicket doesn’t have much bounce so I was focussing on bowling stump to stump. I knew, if I do that, I can bring LBW and bowled into play.” 

Ravindra Jadeja is making a comeback to the Indian team, after his knee surgery. He played for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy to prove his fitness, before the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Indian all-rounder expressed that it helped him to prepare for the series. H

“When you play first-class cricket, you get to bowl to quality batters. I played against Tamil Nadu, their batting was strong. So my preparation was good. It was a similar wicket in Chennai, the bounce was less. I repeated the stump-to-stump tactic,” said Jadeja.

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