"He didn't use the time just to grow his hair" - Ajay Jadeja on Ravindra Jadeja's five-wicket haul on return

Former cricketer Ajay Jadeja reserved high praise for Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for picking up a five-wicket haul on Day 1 of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9.

He reckoned that while Australia were too worried about facing Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja came off the syllabus and bamboozled them on the opening day. Ajay emphasized that the spinner did a brilliant job with the ball, despite being on the sidelines for several months due to a knee injury.

Speaking to Crizbuzz after stumps, he said:

"Australia prepared for Ravichandran Ashwin, but Ravindra Jadeja came out syllabus. It is never easy for a player to make a comeback at this age after dealing with such an injury. It is quite difficult physically and very challenging mentally.

"He didn't use the time just to grow his hair. He did bowl a lot of no balls. But it is quite natural as he is returning after several months. If he was able to do this even when he wasn't in full flow, what will Australia do when he regains his complete rhythm?"

Ajay also lauded Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for bringing Jadeja quite early into the attack. He suggested that while the player was expected to take some time to settle in, he completely dominated the opposition with his inspired spells.

"Ravindra Jadeja, who was making a return, was brought into the attack very early by the captain," he added. "Rohit might have had the foresight that Jadeja would take the most wickets on this pitch. You would want to give hom some time to settle, given that it was his comeback Test. Instead of settling in, he completely overpowered Australia."

Jadeja returned to India's Test team following a five-month-long injury-enforced break. The seasoned campaigner delivered a sensational performance on his comeback, bagging five scalps as the hosts bundled out Australia for a sub-par score of 177.

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"A master at cleaning up the tail" - Ajay Jadeja on Ravichandran Ashwin

Ajay Jadeja also spoke about how senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin didn't allow Australia's lower-order batters to chip in with significant contributions.

He mentioned that Ashwin is a wonderful bowler, as he is capable of picking up important wickets and can also clean up the tail very quickly. Ashwin shone with the ball on Day 1, picking up the crucial wickets of Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, and Scott Boland.

Speaking about Ashwin's impactful performance, Ajay said:

"India held back Ravichandran Ashwin. He is a master at cleaning up the tail. A great bowler gives you breakthroughs at tough junctures. However, the speciality of great bowlers is that they never let the tail hang around."

Notably, Ashwin became the ninth player to pick up 450 wickets in the history of Test cricket. The spinner achieved the feat in 89 Tests, becoming the second-fastest player to do so.