India vs Australia 3rd Test Ends In A Draw: Ravindra Jadeja Touches New Heights

India vs Australia 3rd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy finally ended in a draw on the fifth day at Ranchi and after all those nail-biting moments, Aussies were able to salvage a draw. Coming into the 5th day at 23/2, all the Australian team needed was magic to prevent India from taking the lead and that is what they got.

Shaun Marsh (53) and Peter Handscomb (72) batted out 62 overs, putting on 124 runs for the fifth wicket, including a wicket-less session and forced the game towards a draw, which seemed next to impossible at the start of the day. Ravindra Jadeja was the man of the hour as he claimed 4 wickets and provided India a breakthrough whenever there was a need. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma both claimed a wicket each.
 

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Australia finished at 204/6 with Peter Handscomb and Matthew Wade being unbeaten before the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, offered the draw.

Coming back to the ‘Man Of The Hour’, Ravindra Jadeja has prospered as an allrounder through this home season and his record-breaking spree seems to have no end. From adding 54 substantial runs in India’s second innings to taking 9 important wickets in the India vs Australia 3rd Test (5 and 4), Ravindra Jadeja has done it all.

“They came prepared for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja came out of syllabus”.

The Numbers From the India vs Australia 3rd Test

• Ravichandran Ashwin equaled Dale Steyn’s record for the most number of wickets taken in a single season of cricket. The Indian spin-sensation has clinched 78 wickets in this season
• Ravindra Jadeja has now dismissed Steve Smith thrice in this series.
• Jadeja now has 67 scalps under his belt, the third most number of wickets taken by a bowler in a single season. He went past legendary bowler Glenn McGrath while achieving this feat.
• Ravindra Jadeja now stands third on the list for the most number of wickets taken by an Indian left-arm spinner with bowled being the mode of dismissal. He has bowled 30 batsmen throughout his career, and only Vinoo Mankad and Bishan Singh Bedi have more wickets than him in this form.
• Ravindra Jadeja’s average of 18.83 is the fifth best for any bowler in home conditions who have taken a minimum of 100 Test wickets.
• Cheteshwar Pujara became the first Indian Batsman to face ‘Most Number Of Balls’ in a Test Inning, 525 to be exact. Due to his exceptional performance, he was adjudged as the ‘Man Of The Match’.
• This is the first India vs Australia Test to be drawn on Indian soil after 10 games. The last drawn Test was played in Delhi in 2008.
• Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb’s partnership of 124 runs off 373 balls is the second longest Australian stand by in Asia for any wicket in the second innings. The numero uno position belongs to Justin Langer and Simon Katich who faced 391 balls in 2004.

20th March 2017
Rohan Jaitly