When he walked out to bat, India were in a precarious position with all their top batsmen back in the hut and once again it was Ravindra Jadeja who played the rescue act.
On a wicket offering plenty of turn and bounce to the spinners on the first day of the third Test in Nagpur on Wednesday, Jadeja’s knock of 34 proved to be very critical. It helped India get past the psychological barrier of 200, a rarity in the ongoing Test series which has been witness to some very low scores.
Murali Vijay top-scored with 40 before a mini collapse in the post-lunch session, triggered by Morne Morkel, saw India slip to 125 for six. All-rounder Jadeja staged the recovery act with a vital 48-run stand for the seventh wicket with Wriddhiman Saha, the second-highest partnership for India.
Interestingly, Jadeja had played a similar innings with the bat in the first Test in Mohali, when he scored 38 to steer India to safety and then took eight wickets (3-55 and 5-21) with the ball to lift his team to victory.
- Images from third Test, Day 1
On Wednesday, while Saha was content to defend everything that came his way, Jadeja adopted a positive approach, looking to strike boundaries regularly. His approach also unsettled off-spinner Simon Harmer, who had got into a good rhythm by then after claiming the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma. He also took on the gigantic Morkel, lofting him straight back over mid-on for a four, to signal his intentions, while also garnering some vitals runs for the India on a difficult wicket for batsmen.
With the ball, Jadeja once again struck early, dismissing nightwatchman Imran Tahir for four after Ashwin had claimed Stiaan van Zyl to leave the visitors reeling on 11 for two at stumps on the opening day.
While Jadeja's bowling is his primary weapon, he is capable of making an impact with the bat too.
He proved his prowess with the bat against England in July last year when his blazing knock of 68 from 57 balls in the second innings turned the second Test on its head. India, after conceding a 24-run first innings lead, were able to set the hosts a stiff target of 319 which they failed to achieve after Ishant Sharma bounced them out to claim 7-74.
For India captain Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja is a "very, very consistent" bowler, who is capable of holding one end up by bowling long spells without a break.
Jadeja was dropped for the one-off Test in Bangladesh and the three-Test series in Sri Lanka before he stormed his way back into the Indian team with a rich haul of 38 wickets in four Ranji Trophy games for Saurashtra.
He made an immediate impact on his return to the Test team, playing a key role in India's 108-run victory in Mohali.
Saurashtra coach Sitanshu Kotak rates Jadeja as the best bowler in India on a wicket offering help to spinners.
"He is the kind of bowler who is difficult to deal with on wickets which assist spinners. To me, he is one of the best bowlers in India on a turning wicket," Kotak had told Rediff.com.
"His control makes him more dangerous. Plus the other thing is he does not give any loose deliveries and on a turning wicket if you try and get him away you will end up throwing your wicket. He doesn't give runs and is capable of bowling a lot of overs non-stop, like for Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy game this season he bowled nearly 27 overs on the trot," he added.
For Jadeja, the confidence is back after a super show in the Ranji Trophy and the first Test in Mohali.
"It drops where you want it to drop. It's good that way, I am getting wickets too, so I was just enjoying my bowling," he said after winning the man of the match in the first Test.
Keeping things simple on a turning track is his mantra for success: "Everybody in the stadium knew the ball was turning. [We] just had to put it in the right place. Sometimes when the ball is turning, a bowler can try too many things. I just wanted to not give boundaries when the wickets weren't coming."
