The 34-year-old all-rounder, who was also the leading wicket-taker the last time Australia played a Test series in India, revealed how he made his comeback to international cricket following an injury bout.
“Playing after 5 months, playing Test cricket, it’s tough,” Jadeja said on stumps at day one. “I was prepared for it and I was working hard on my fitness as well as on my skills at NCA. I played a first-class game (Ranji) after a long time and I bowled almost 42 overs. It gave me a lot of confidence to come here and play a Test match.”
“I was working hard on my bowling when I was in Bangalore at the NCA. I was bowling 10-12 hours everyday and that helped me a lot. I was working on my rhythm because I knew that I have to play Test match and I have to bowl long spells,” he said.
With the dry nature of pitch providing turn from Day 1, Jadeja made the most out of the conditions. The 31-year-old all-rounder broke the backbone of Australian innings by removing a set Marnus Labuschagne (49) and Steve Smith (37) in quick succession.
The Aussie duo threatened to put good amount of runs on the board as they recovered the visitors from 2/2 with a 82-run stand. Jadeja first removed Labuschagne a run short of half century in his first innings in India while Steve Smith was clean bowled with a peach of a delivery soon after.
“There was no bounce on the wicket, I was targeting the stump-to-stump line. The odd ball was spinning and the odd ball was going straight. Being a left-arm spinner, if you get batsmen out caught behind or stumped, you always give credit to the ball. In Test match cricket, whatever wicket you take, you are happy with that,” Jadeja said.
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