Ravindra Jadeja The Crisis Man Of Indian Cricket

The 34-year-old made an outstanding return to International cricket, claiming seven wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings. That was the only time India batted in the game...

- Renin Wilben

The first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test between India and Australia in Nagpur marked the comeback of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja following his recovery from a freak knee injury he picked up during the Asia Cup in the UAE last year. The 34-year-old made an outstanding return to international cricket, claiming seven wickets in the match, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings. The only time India batted in the game - they didn’t need second innings as Australia were bundled out cheaply - Jadeja contributed a crucial 70. While his performance was least surprising, as he has come up with similar efforts before, Jadeja’s Player of the Match-winning return reiterated his value to the team and proved once again why he is the crisis man of Indian cricket. On Day 1 of the Nagpur Test, Australia recovered from a horrendous start and seemed to be in some sort of control with the bat. Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith were creating a brilliant exhibition on batting against spin. Neither of them looked troubled against either Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin. Thanks to the Labuschagne and Smith duo, many experts felt Australia actually won the day's first session. Out of nowhere, Jadeja produced a brute, outfoxed Labuschagne, and had him stumped. India had found the much-needed opening they needed, and Jadeja broke open the door after that. The Test match took a completely different turn after that.