"It seems like Jadeja needs to practice a little more against spin" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Ravindra Jadeja's dismissal in BGT 2024-25 4th Test

Sanjay Manjrekar reckons Ravindra Jadeja needs to practice a little more against spin after his dismissal in India's first innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 fourth Test. He noted that the left-handed batter looked comfortable against the seamers but was found wanting against Nathan Lyon.

Jadeja scored 17 runs off 51 deliveries as India ended Day 3 (Saturday, December 28) of the Boxing Day Test against Australia at 358/9. The visitors still trail the Aussies by 116 runs, with Nitish Kumar Reddy (105* off 176) and Mohammed Siraj (2* off 7) being the unbeaten batters.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar was asked about his thoughts on Jadeja's dismissal.

"He played the fast bowlers a lot and played them very well. He didn't make even a slight mistake against the fast bowlers. However, once Nathan Lyon came, he was expecting off-spin, that the ball would turn. His bat came for the off-spin and the ball was not turning at all. So he played with that mindset," he responded.

"It seems like Jadeja needs to practice a little more against spin because he is looking absolutely comfortable against seam. He used to play very well against spin earlier but it happens that when you play overseas, you start playing fast bowling well and your focus is slightly removed from spin. If only fast bowlers had been there, Jadeja would have played a big knock," Manjrekar added.

Ravindra Jadeja scored only two runs off the 14 deliveries he faced from Nathan Lyon. The Aussie off-spinner trapped him lbw with a ball that didn't turn and skidded on after pitching.

Overall, Lyon has dismissed Jadeja seven times in 16 innings in red-ball cricket.

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"I felt he was playing for turn from the start" - Deep Dasgupta on Ravindra Jadeja's dismissal

Ravindra Jadeja survived an LBW appeal against Nathan Lyon earlier in his innings. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, Deep Dasgupta noted that Ravindra Jadeja was unable to read Nathan Lyon throughout his innings.

"I felt he was playing for turn from the start but Nathan Lyon read the conditions very well, that there wasn't that much turn there. Nathan Lyon will get two things here - one is bounce and the second is drift. You should see from where he released the ball and where it finished," he said.

The former India wicketkeeper-batter pointed out that Lyon's deliveries were consistently hitting Jadeja's inside edge.

"He released it from wide of the crease, the pitching was just outside the off-stump, and it pitched and came in. From Nathan Lyon's first ball, when Jadeja was defending, it was hitting the inside edge of the bat. It tells you that Jadeja's thinking was opposite to what Nathan Lyon was doing, and that is why Nathan Lyon trapped him," Dasgupta observed.

Jadeja's dismissal reduced India to 221/7. However, Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar (50 off 162) added 127 runs for the eighth wicket to help the visitors avert the follow-on and reach a respectable total.