Ravindra Jadeja, fight and the sword dance

Jadeja, it seems, has finally made peace with himself as a Test match player.

Lord’s 2014 and England had given India a green top. Despite Ajinkya Rahane’s fine first innings ton, India was far from safe going into the second innings. And when MS Dhoni got dismissed, leaving Murali Vijay stranded, hopes of an Indian win seemed remote.

Walk in, Ravindra Jadeja. Two hours later, came out the first-ever sword dance. Jadeja@50 and the match had been set up. Thanks to Ishant Sharma’s super bowling effort, India won a famous victory, which to an extent had also been set up by Jadeja.

Back home, he has always been superb. Using spin-friendly conditions, Jadeja has tormented the Australians, English, and South Africans over the last decade. On occasions, he has even outdone Ravi Ashwin, the premier spinner, on home soil.

Having done all of the above, it was expected that Jadeja would soon be a permanent fixture of the Indian test team. It wasn’t to be. With Ashwin as the premier spinner, Jadeja was relegated to the bench for a while. In fact, that he was a good spinner even in overseas conditions was all but forgotten. It was only when Ashwin was injured in England in 2018 that Jadeja made a comeback. It was a forced selection more than anything. But the rest, as they say, is history.

His value was yet again proved at Lord’s yesterday. Walking out to bat at 248-4, which soon became 254-5, Jadeja had his task cut out. India was still 133 behind, and England was smelling a handy first innings lead. If that happened, India would play catch-up, and with two days left, England would be dictating terms. Also, with Nitish and Washington to follow, it was Jadeja who had to play the role of the senior partner.

In the end, it was his 72, which made sure that India was equal to England. Going into the Test, there was enough pressure on Jadeja to deliver. True to his warrior image, he did. Picking up the key wicket of Pope in the first innings and now with the 72, he has yet again played a pivotal role in India’s Lord’s showing. Just like in Edgbaston, at Lord’s, Jadeja played one of his grittiest Test innings, grinding England down.

On the fourth day of the Test, Jadeja will yet again come out to firm up his legacy.

All of India and the team will be hoping he will pick a few English wickets on a pitch where Root did get some turn. In doing so, he will have settled the debate.

Ravindra Jadeja, the Test match player, is pivotal to India’s success. He can no longer be labelled a home Test series player. Rather, he is as good as anyone overseas, if not better. He can, in adverse conditions, deliver with both bat and ball. He can lead the Indian spin attack in pace-friendly wickets and can pick wickets and also contain if need be. That’s what Jadeja has proved time and again, and that’s what the new Jadeja is all about.

The sword dance did come out at Lord’s, and this time round, with a promise to come out much more frequently.

Jadeja, it seems, has finally made peace with himself as a Test match player. He doesn’t have to try too hard on the field, and few will disagree that he is the best outfielder in world cricket at the moment. And while saving 15-20 runs every game, if he also picks 2-3 wickets and scores a handy 50, his captain will find it impossible to look beyond him. That’s what Ravindra Jadeja in 2025 is all about.