‘Keep things simple’, has always been Ravindra Jadeja’s mantra, and he expects the Indian bowlers to keep it the same way against England’s attacking style of play as both teams head into the third Test at Rajkot from Thursday.
Interestingly, he would talk about how it “took some time to get used to England’s attacking but once you get used to it, it becomes easier”. But his overall plan is to return to the “simple” basics, and not try to change too much.
“It is better to keep the (bowling) lines as simple as possible in Test cricket because their batters look to play their strokes at every opportunity,” he said.
“If we adjust according to that, it is possible that we may end up giving more runs and not get wickets as well. We will keep it simple and let them do whatever they want to, we have our game plan and if we stick to it then there are chances of being successful.”
“England has an aggressive style. In the past, it wasn’t easy for other teams that come here and play in these conditions. England have a style of playing aggressively. They connect sometimes, sometimes not. But that’s their style. We have to think about our plan B. What’s our field? We have to stick. Unko khila khila ke run nahi bananey-dena hai (we can’t feed them balls to pile up the runs,)” Jadeja said on eve of the third Test against England in Rajkot.
The all-rounder, who was out of the second Test with a hamstring injury, is hopeful to return to the XI in Rajkot. He stated that India made small errors in the second innings of the first Test which allowed the visitors to take a lead in the series, but is now confident of stifling their aggressive style of batting.
“When they are playing those shots, you can start thinking about where to bowl,” Jadeja said.
On his injury, Jadeja said that it was frustrating to miss matches and cited him diving around in the field as a possible reason for frequent injuries. Jadeja had pulled his hamstring in Hyderabad in the first Test after being run out in India’s fourth-innings chase.
“I can’t hide anywhere in the field, I am always in the hotspot, be it any format and that’s probably the reason I get injured. There is an expectation from the team that I take a good catch or field well, which is good. I need to work on my body cleverly and be careful.”
“I would like to give my 100 percent and save my body and keep away from diving when not required,” he added.
Jadeja, the local lad, expects the wicket in Rajkot to be flat and hard, but agreed that the nature of the wicket keeps changing at this venue. While there are concerns around India’s batting depth with Virat Kohli on personal leave, KL Rahul ruled out and Shreyas Iyer out of the squad, Jadeja maintained that the new players coming into the squad were good enough to step up.
“All these new boys are coming into the side after playing a lot of first-class cricket. These are seasoned players, they know how to play long innings and have an idea of how it goes in Test cricket,” he said.
Backs Ashwin to enter 500-wicket club
Jadeja said it was only in the destiny that Ashwin, who has 499 wickets, would have the chance to bring up his 500th scalp at Rajkot. “He will definitely complete his 500 wickets on this ground. I am very excited because I have been playing with him for 12-13 years and to achieve this milestone of completing 500 Test wickets is a really big thing,” Jadeja said.
“I thought he would complete it in the first Test but it’s okay, whatever is written in destiny… he will complete his 500 wickets in Rajkot, in my hometown,” Jadeja added.