Indian all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja won the hearts of the cricket universe with his mind-boggling fielding performance on the second day of the ongoing Test between New Zealand and India at the Hagley Oval. The Saurashtra-born player took an absolute blinder to dismiss Neil Wagner in the Test match, a catch which later helped India take a slender lead of 7 runs in the first innings.
This is the first time that India took a lead in the Test series which shows the importance of the catch. Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner were frustrating the Indian bowlers with their partnership for the ninth wicket. The pair of two fast bowlers already added 50 runs to the team’s score as they tried to curb down the trail. However, Jadeja’s presence ensured that the partnership ends soon as his efforts helped India send Wagner back to the pavilion. Such was the beauty of the catch that even Neil Wagner was left dumbfounded by Jadeja’s effort.
Speaking to the reporters after the end of the day’s play, Jadeja explained how he felt after taking the one-handed catch. The left-arm spinner was quoted as follows by NDTV Sports:
“I was expecting him (Wagner) to score towards deep square leg. But I didn’t expect the ball to come at that pace. It came so quickly with the wind and I just stuck my hand out. I didn’t even realise when I took the catch. We bowled well as a unit. We will look to bat well and bowl them out again.”
After shining on the field, Ravindra Jadeja will now have to produce the goods with the bat because India has a lead of just 97 runs in the second innings with only 4 wickets in hand. The trio of Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja will have to play out of their skins to ensure that India does not lose the series.
