India vs England: Vintage Jadeja back to the fore

CUTTACK: Ravindra Jadeja was at the top of his mark at the Barabati Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Taking guard in front of him was England batter Harry Brook. The Indian spinner, playing only his second ODI since the home World Cup in 2023, was in his zone, a place where he positions himself in the realm of super-humans.

When in flow, Jadeja doesn’t take more than two minutes to get through his over. It starts with the gripping of the ball in the left hand, followed by a short glance around to check the field before walking a few steps to release the ball like he has a thread attached to it.

When he has someone who is susceptible against spinners, he repeats it all over again five more times, all in a span about 90 seconds. The 24th over of the England innings on Sunday was one such.

Brook kicked off the over with a front foot defence, playing the ball back to Jadeja. By the time he was done adjusting his gloves, Jadeja would be waiting at the top of his mark, ready to walk in again.

Next ball, Jadeja kept it to the stumps. Brook blocked again. Jadeja walked in. Brook worked it to leg side. Blocked. Defended. Pushed to off-side.

Brook hardly had time to think, take stock of the field to try and attack. Jadeja was right in front of him. The 36-year-old was at his best not just on Sunday but throughout the ongoing series against England.

If his figures of 3/26 in the first ODI showed what Jadeja can do on a surface that had some help, on Sunday, bowling on a black soil surface that was by and large good to bat on, the veteran was the only bowler to operate at less than four runs per over. He finished with 3/35, accounting for Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jamie Overton.

While the 36-year-old is still the number one left-arm spinner in Test cricket for India, white-ball formats has been a different story. Over the years, despite remaining a crucial part of the set up, Jadeja’s powers, especially with the bat, seemed to be dripping.

And it showed in the way the selectors and team management slowly shifting towards Axar Patel, who at this point is the T20I vice-captain and perhaps the first-choice spinner in ODIs.

And yet, here was Jadeja showing once again what an asset he could be in the one white-ball format he plays at the international level. 

The senior spinner credited the number of overs he sent down in the couple of Ranji Trophy games he played for Saurashtra for getting into the zone before the England ODIs. “It feels really good,” Jadeja said when asked about his bowling in the 50-over format. 

"I am playing (ODIs) after almost two years... after the 2023 World Cup. In this format, there's a need to adapt quickly. I believe playing in the one domestic game helped me, because in that game I bowled 30 overs because of which my rhythm was intact. I try to bowl almost the same line and length in one-dayers like I do in Tests. So the continuity was there because of the domestic game I played, and it helped me,” he explained.

In this Indian squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy, Jadeja was the last name in the fifteen. Ahead of him were Axar, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.

Axar, now a crucial part of the limited overs side, has also seemed to have moved up the pecking order especially the team management looking to use him as a floater to counter opposition spinners. Which meant, Jadeja is a No 8 bat in this playing XI. 

To put it into context, he bats at No 6/7 more often than not in Test cricket. There have been occasions where he has been used at No 5 too.

That said, the veteran is still invaluable on the field as he is still the most athletic fielder and has the safest hands while marshalling the boundary. And when there is even the tiniest assistance from the surface that is on the slower side, he becomes the X-factor.

His consistent line and length to the stumps with the odd ball that turns would mean the opponents more often than not will be cautious against him through the middle-overs.

At the Champions Trophy in Dubai, Jadeja is going to be crucial to India’s plans over the next month or so. The 36-year-old has backed it up with performance in the first couple of ODIs, showing that he can still deliver for India when they need him the most.