‘Over the moon for my favourite cricketer’: Manjrekar applauds Jadeja after five-fer

New Delhi:  India’s all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja put on a remarkable display of skill and resilience on Day 1 of the Mumbai Test, helping India dismiss New Zealand for 235 runs. Jadeja’s performance included his 14th five-wicket haul in Test cricket, an achievement that garnered high praise from former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar. Once labeling Jadeja as ‘bits-and-pieces’ player—Manjrekar took to Twitter to express his admiration. “Over the moon for my favourite cricketer, Jadeja. A fifer! He needed that! And so did the team.” The Mumbai heat and the dry, turning surface worked to India’s advantage. Washington Sundar provided crucial breakthroughs early, dismissing New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Rachin Ravindra before Lunch. Jadeja struck just before Tea, removing Will Young and Tom Blundell in quick succession on a surface that began to offer puffs of dust and sharp turn. New Zealand’s batters struggled, save for Daryl Mitchell, who fought through both the Indian attack and the oppressive 37-degree temperatures to add some resistance to the scoreboard. Jadeja’s afternoon was particularly significant, not only for his five-wicket haul but for his achievement of surpassing two former Indian legends, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, to become India’s fifth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. The wicket that took Jadeja to 312 came in style as he bowled Glenn Phillips with a delivery that darted in with the arm, leaving the batter completely beaten. This wicket placed him behind only four other Indian greats on the all-time list: Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, R Ashwin, and Harbhajan Singh. With 312 Test wickets, Jadeja now trails Harbhajan Singh’s 417 wickets and is inching closer to his own place in Indian cricket’s history books. His milestone follows another significant achievement earlier in this series, where he became only the third Indian to reach the dual milestone of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets, a feat achieved previously by Kapil Dev and Ravichandran Ashwin. Jadeja is the second-fastest to achieve this after England’s Ian Botham, underscoring his role as a dynamic all-rounder for India. –IANS