RAJKOT : Ravindra Jadeja was down on his knees, kissing the pitch at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot. He had completed a fifer, trapping Mark Wood on the pads and helped India secure a record victory in the third Test against England here on Sunday. At least he thought so.
Wood reviewed and survived, but it was always going to be a matter of time. He dismissed Wood in the next over, this time the celebrations were much casual despite India registering a 434-run victory — the biggest in terms of margin of runs — taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Rohit was a satisfied captain. After being constantly challenged by England, in Rajkot, he and the bowlers had come up with specific plans for a slowish surface and it worked. Mohammed Siraj led the way in the first essay and Jadeja in the second. R Ashwin, who had to head home for a family emergency, too, joined the team on Sunday. This one, along with Visakhapatnam, will remain special for Rohit because of where they were after Hyderabad and the players they did not have. For England, the Rajkot Test was supposed to be their best chance. The hosts were playing with two debutants and a middle-order with a cumulative experience of one Test. England had India down to 33/3 on day one. England were 207/2 after day two. When they started batting on Saturday, they did not have to face Ashwin.
And yet, over the course of 48 hours, India did what they do more often than not in a home Test. They bundled out England, piled on a massive lead before putting England back with four-and-a-half sessions to play. The rest, as said before, was all Jadeja’s magic.