Left-handers Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel destroy Australian media’s conspiracy theory around Nagpur pitch
Jadeja #Jadeja
Among the many bizarre claims that the Australian media made in the lead-up to the first Test of the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy was the doctoring of the Nagpur pitch in a bid to make life difficult for the visiting left-handed batters. A photo of the curators in action, days ahead of the first Test in Nagpur gave rise to plenty of speculation, most of them baseless, about the pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.
An Australian publication called it ‘systematic doctoring’ of pitches in India and that it would be one of the greatest achievements for Pat Cummins’s men if they manage to overcome the Indian spin threat on such tracks and win the series. Even as the team itself, led by captain Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald, played down suggestions of a ‘minefield’ for left-handers.
JADEJA’S ALL-ROUND TEST HEROICS
A section of the Australian media suggested that the curators in Nagpur had left a spot each on both ends of the pitch drier than the rest of the 22 yards to make sure Indian spinners troubled the Australian left-handers. By not watering them as much as the rest of the pitch, Indian curators were allowing the two spots outside the left-hander’s off-stump to crumble faster.
Even as the likes of Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and David Warner were taking turns inspecting the pitch on the eve of the Test, the outside noise grew louder.
Nagpur Test, Day 2 Highlights
Rohit Sharma’s cheeky comment about the hype about the Nagpur pitch went viral as the India captain took a jibe at the conspiracy theories. “Itna pitch mat dekho, cricket khelo,” Rohit had said on the eve of the first Test.
LEFT IS NOT RIGHT FOR AUSSIES!
As it turned out, the Nagpur pitch was far from a minefield that it was portrayed to be. Australia lost their two openers, left-handers, to Indian pacers inside the first 3 overs. Even before the trial by spin began, Australia lost two of their best left-handed batters in their line-up in David Warner and Usman Khawaja.
When Matt Renshaw walked out to bat on Day 1, Ravindra Jadeja operated from around the wicket and sent the left-hander walking back by dismissing him LBW. Alex Carey, the last of the left-handers in the frontline batting unit, tried too much by playing one reverse-sweep after another. Eventually, his end in the first innings came when he inside-edged a reverse sweep against R Ashwin after having gotten a start (36).
A minefield for left-handers? Well, certainly not as Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel showed
The way Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel batted against the Australian bowling attack on Day 2 suggests that there is nothing wrong with the pitch in Nagpur.
“I never said all that (minefield for left-handers). That was all the journalists. I think the pitch played better today (Friday) than yesterday. I mean, there have been a few balls that have played up a little bit. But, nothing out of the ordinary,” former Australia batter Mark Waugh told the broadcasters at the end of the 2nd day’s play.
JADEJA, AXAR TORMENT AUSTRALIA
Jadeja, returning to Test cricket for the first time since July 2022 after having recovered from knee surgery, looked at ease. The difference in body language was evident when Jadeja, a vastly improved batter, walked into bat after India lost Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession.
Unlike Carey, Jadeja did not try to do anything fancy but trusted his defence and allowed his captain Rohit Sharma, who was batting on 80s, to dominate the Australian bowlers. Jadeja was willing to take his time and do the boring routines before he had the opportunity to capitalise when the Australian bowlers were tiring on Day 2.
Axar Patel, who joined Ravindra Jadeja after the dismissal of KS Bharat, made the conspiracy theories looked ridiculous by going about his business in a free-flowing manner. The Gujarat left-hander hit 52, including 8 boundaries, notching up his second fifty in Test cricket. Axar looked even more composed and was largely untroubled during his 102-ball stay on Day 2.
Axar was unbeaten on 52, Jadeja was unbeaten on 66. The two had stitched an unbeaten stand of 81, batting out 30.5 overs in the final session. The Australian media’s conspiracy theory, though, was fairly beaten!
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