Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. (File)Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared eight wickets as India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs in the first test on Sunday.
Ashwin took 4-21, while Jadeja had 4-46 as Sri Lanka collapsed to 178 all out (60 overs) after India had enforced the follow-on on day three.
Jadeja picked up 5-41 in the first innings, to go with his impressive 175 not out in India’s innings of 574-8 declared, as the visitors conceded a 400-run first-innings lead.
He became only the third Indian cricketer to score 150 runs and take a five-wicket haul in the same game and was named man of the match for his exploits across the three days. He finished with a match haul of 9-87.
“I would say this is my lucky ground. Whenever I come here I get positive vibes. I was looking to build a partnership with Rishabh, give him the strike and enjoy his batting from the other end. To be honest I don’t know about any stat. Feeling very good, happy to score runs and pick wickets for the team. Obviously as a player you boost your confidence with such a performance. I have not done anything differently, just played to my strengths and I give myself time to settle down. I look to keep it very simple out in the middle. I haven’t played with the SG pink ball, so it is going to be different and I will practice for a couple of days, hopefully it comes good,” said Jadeja after the game.
Jadeja’s bowling partner Ashwin praised his work with the willow and said, “He has really come a long way in the last four-five years. I think his position is a little low for the way he is batting at the moment. His batting has gone one notch higher. He knows what he is doing and it reflects in the way he is batting.”
Skipper Rohit Sharma was all praise for the southpaw and said, “The highlight of the game was Jadeja. There was a question whether to declare or not, it was the team’s decision, Jadeja’s decision to put them in and shows how selfless he is,” he added.
Sharma also expressed his satisfaction over the performance of Ashwin and termed him an “all-time great” after the senior off-spinner eclipsed Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 wickets to become the country’s second highest wicket-taker. Ashwin took a match-haul of six for 96 in the first Test against Sri Lanka and his current tally stands at 436 wickets.
“It’s a big thing in his cricketing career to achieve that feat you know,” Rohit said when asked about Ashwin’s feat in just 85 Tests.
“When you grow up wanting to play Test cricket, you don’t dream about these things and so to surpass that is a big achievement on his behalf. You know, I have been watching Ashwin for a long time now and every time I watch him, he seems to get better and better.
“Ashwin is one such player who always has confidence is in his ability in what he wants to achieve and for the team as well,” the skipper said.
India lead the two-match series 1-0.
The second test starts on March 12.
(With PTI inputs)
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