After missing the Vizag Test due to a hamstring strain, Ravindra Jadeja is set to make his comeback in the third Test against England at his home ground, the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
On the eve of the match, the 35-year-old all-rounder spoke about England’s Bazball approach – which has resulted in a victory in Hyderabad and a tight contest for the majority of the parts in Vizag – and how he and Indian bowlers plan to tackle it.
In the two Tests so far, England batted at the strike rate of 65 while India batted at 54. Barely any team in the past 11 years have challenged the Indian bowlers and forced them to alter their lengths and plans so frequently as England have.
Ravindra Jadeja feels that style is a bit of a miss-and-hit approach, and reckons India are going to keep it simple.
“When they are playing those shots, you can start thinking ‘oh where should I bowl. They are sweeping but in my opinion it’s to keep simple, not change much,” Ravindra Jadeja said a day before the Test in Rajkot.
“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.
“It is not that England are difficult to beat but they play with a different style and it takes some time to understand that. Once you understand their style and approach we can plan our game accordingly.”
Ravindra Jadeja talks about lengths against Ollie Pope
In Hyderabad, Ollie Pope produced arguably the best innings by an England batsman in India, his 196 helping England overcome a deficit of 190 runs and eventually win the game by 28 runs. Pope in the first Test and Zak Crawley in the second Test deployed all kinds of sweeps and reverse sweeps.
Ravindra Jadeja, however, is not influenced by England’s batting and instead is stubborn to stick to his own lengths that have served him brilliantly over the past decade at home.
The all-rounder added, “As a team, if someone is playing differently you will start thinking about the lines to bowl. As a bowler I will try to keep it simple and not try anything different because they are playing different shots. Let them play their style of cricket, we will stick to our basic plans which we have been doing for so many years.”
The first look of the Rajkot pitch suggests it is flat and the local lad reckons there will good amount of runs on the first two days before it starts breaking up and assists the spinners.
