Mohali Test: 'Sword-wielding' Ravindra Jadeja takes a swipe at detractors

Indian allrounder Ravindra Jadeja flashes his bat like a sword after completing his half century on the third day of the third Test match between India and England at The Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on Monday PicAFPMohaliOften criticised for underperforming with the bat India allrounder Ravindra Jadeja on Monday took a dig at his detractors after notching up a careerbest Test score in the ongoing third match of the fivegame series against England hereJadeja was polite but sarcasm was not lost when he saidthat its not as if he fancies himself as a specialistbatsman because he is indeed oneJadejas careerbest Test score of 90 helped India take a 134run first innings lead thereby putting England underimmense pressure on third day of the gameIts not that I consider myself as a batsman I am a batsman Jadeja asserted when someone asked whether he hasbecome more responsible while batting which was evident in hisdefensive game todayIn fact to drive home a point he took the help of statisticsI have been scoring runs in firstclass cricket at an average of 53 43 as per espncricinfo records if you leaveaside Test matches that is Its not the first time that Ihave made 90 runs Yes may be a first in Tests but I have an idea that I can bat I wasnt in a hurry since it was a slowwicket with less turn I knew after 50 60 or 70 balls I canup my scoring rate said the Saurashtra allrounderAsked to compare his 68 at Lords with todays knock Jadeja said I think any good innings that you have playedfor India is important Even during this innings we were in asituation where we were 5 for 150 156 and from that situation to guide the team to a good position waschallenging Jayant Yadav Ravichandran Ashwin and myself spoke to each other build the innings and luckily we are nowin a good position considering that they are still 70 behind 56 actually and are four downHe said that since England was bowling boring lines hedecided to take them on during post lunch session I didnt go on an attacking mode just like that Theywere bowling boring lines outside off stump We had lot oftime at our disposal so I just thought that lets disturb thebowler by going outside the offstump Try and use the area on the legside as there were only two fielders there Thatswhat I was trying and luckily I got four boundaries in that over of Woakes Jadeja saidJadeja said he had no regrets missing out on his maiden Testhundred by 10 runsThe shot that I got out is my pet shot I can hit sixanytime with that shot I had confidence but the ball cameslow off the wicket and thats why I didnt get the requiredimpact I am not disappointed that I was out to that shot hesaidIn Indias Test history its the first time that batsmenfrom No 7 to 9 have scored 50 plus runs in the same inningsand Jadeja said that it proves a point that lowerorder toocan batAny team will have a plus point if its lower middleorder is contributing If the last 711 can give 50 to 100runs extra for the team its a bonus Luckily everyone iscontributing which is a good sign and also an indication thatits not only the toporder thats contributing We havebatting till No 9 and we can score runs Everything thatshappening is for good the lefthanded batsman saidBut Jadeja did stress that spending extra time on battingat the nets has helped the teamIts not magic Just a bit more focus spending some more time batting at the nets talking to batting coach mentally prepared for certain situations where you need to take more responsibility Ashwin is scoring runs he has scored around 500 runs this season I am also trying to score as many runs as possible to help the team he saidAfter a good day in office Jadeja was in jovial mood and when one asked about his trademark sword celebrations he said in jest Thats a Rajput trademark style nothing special Its just that I cant carry a sword into the ground