Ravindra Jadeja: I asked team to declare as pitch offered turn and bounce

While there was a buzz that Jadeja should have been given a chance to go for a double, the cricketer insisted that it was an ideal time to declare giving opposition a session under difficult circumstances

Ravindra Jadeja. Pic/PTI

Ravindra Jadeja could have easily gone on to make a double hundred against Sri Lanka on Saturday, but the Indian all-rounder sent a message asking for declaration as he wanted his side to exploit the variable bounce and turn on offer.

Jadeja scored a career-best 175 in India’s 574 for 8 declared.

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While there was a buzz that Jadeja should have been given a chance to go for a double, the cricketer insisted that it was an ideal time to declare giving opposition a session under difficult circumstances.

“I also told them that there is variable bounce and deliveries have started turning. So I sent a message that there is something on offer from the strip and I suggested that we should put them in to bat now itself.

“They were already tired fielding for nearly quarter to two days [five sessions],” Jadeja, who also picked up rival skipper Dimuth Karunaratne’s wicket, said after the second day’s play.

“Since they were tired, it was not easy to play the big shots straightaway and bat for long hours. So, the plan was to declare quickly and exploit the fatigue of the opposition batters,” he further explained.

In fact, the up and down nature of the track helped him remove Karunaratne.

“When I was batting, there were some deliveries that turned and some kept low. There was natural variation off the surface and that was the plan. If we keep it on stumps, it can go straight or also turn from the same spot, and that’s what happened.

“My first ball [to Karunaratne] turned and second ball I thought that I will bowl on the fourth stump and if it turns or stays low, there was always a chance of getting a wicket,” said Jadeja. 

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