For all that India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja did to play a titular role in propelling his team to an innings victory in the recently concluded first Test match against Australia in Nagpur, he still has something special to look forward to during the second Test in Delhi from February 17 onward.
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Jadeja, who picked his 11th Test five-wicket haul on Day 1 and scored 18th Test half-century on Day 2 to win his eighth Test Player of the Match award on Day 3, needs one more wicket to become the eighth Indian bowler with 250 Test wickets under his belt. Eighth-highest Test wicket-taker among Indians, Jadeja’s 249 wickets have come at an average and strike rate of 24.34 and 60 respectively.
Having said that, Jadeja wasn’t the only Indian cricketer to achieve milestones in this match. Fellow all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who picked eight wickets across both the innings, managed to become only the ninth bowler to pick 450 wickets in this format.
Rohit Sharma fed up of Jadeja, Ashwin and Siraj asking him for extra overs to achieve personal milestones
Contemporary Indian spin-twins’ individual records, however, are coming at the cost of captain Rohit Sharma’s peace. Sharma, who scored his ninth Test century yesterday, was joyous due to both his personal and team’s performance.
Sharma, who was at his absolute best in terms of opening up in a casual manner with Star Sports Hindi commentators after the match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium today, expressed his frustration of receiving multiple requests from his bowlers to bowl extra overs, albeit in a hilarious way.
“Sab aas-paas hai. Koi paanch wicket le raha hai. Kisi ne 250 liya. Kisi ne 450 liya. Toh har din koi na koi milestone ke paas pahunch raha hai. Main itna dekhta nahin hoon milestone. Yeh log mujhe aa kar bolte hai ‘Main 250 ke paas hoon, mere ko ball de yaar’, ‘Mera chaar wicket ho gaya, paanchvan wicket chahiye [Everyone is nearing a milestone. Someone has picked 250 wickets. Someone 450. It’s a daily thing now. I don’t keep a check of milestones but these guys come to me and say ‘I am nearing 250 wickets, let me bowl’, ‘I have picked four wickets, need a five-fer now’],” Sharma told Star Sports amusingly.
Sharma, 35, also recited an anecdote around pacer Mohammed Siraj from last month’s third India-Sri Lanka ODI in Thiruvananthapuram. Siraj, whose career-best bowling figures of 10-1-32-4 played a key role in India registering the biggest ODI victory, completed his 10-over spell in the 21st over of the innings in the hope of picking a maiden five-wicket haul in the format.
With all the three experts around him convulsing with laughter, Sharma narrated how Siraj was adamant to complete his quote despite him telling the right-arm bowler to take a break in the fear of the latter getting injured ahead of a four-match Test series.
