Banishing the demons of self-doubt that come from fitness concerns, Ravindra Jadeja has announced his participation in the Australian Series. His 7-for-53 allowed Saurashtra, who was chasing the game, to pool Tamil his Nadu with 133 in the second innings.
Saurashtra, who allowed a lead of 132, still had a fearsome 266 on the deteriorating track on his third day of Ranji’s crash at Chepauk.
Bowling with perfect control, Jadeja showed off throws such as grabs, turns and jumps. His second spell of his 12:1-3-36-6 should have sent all the appropriate signals to his Indian camp. Saurashtra was 4-1 in the second inning. Jay Gohil was hit in the middle by Spinner M. Siddharth with his left arm landing on his leg.
Up to 18 wickets fell on tumultuous Thursday. Hitters came and went. Jadeja began his defeat by outsmarting the elevated Shah Rukh Khan, followed by a demolition in a familiar location. Tamil Nadu were unable to handle a remarkable turn and low impact, losing wickets in a rush in their second innings.
Only opener Sai Sudarsan (37, 72, 3×4) hit with composure and skill. The left-hander deftly shortened his backlift, used his feet skillfully, and played with soft hands.
A resilient Sai his Sudarsan and flowing B. Indrajit (28) added his valuable 58-in-111 ball for the fourth wicket. Indrajith was stunned at the turn when he advanced to be let into the castle by Ravindra Jadeja.
Returning to defense, Sai Sudarsan was slapped and bowled by left-arm spinner Dharmendra Jadeja. The rest of Tamil Nadu’s hits offered little in the challenging backdrop.
Earlier in the day, his Ajith Ram, a left-arm spinner, introduced quite late in the day, bowling with flights, dips and deceptions to scalp three. M. Rhythm bowler Siddharth, who throws adept armballs, also took three wickets.
At Saurashtra only Chirag his Jani resisted with his 49 (151b, 5×4).
Jadeja then took over.
The scores:
Tamil Nadu — 1st innings: 324.
Saurashtra — 1st innings: Harvik Desai lbw b Siddharth 21, Jay Gohil c Aparajith b Ajith Ram 25, Chirag Jani lbw b Siddharth 49, Sheldon Jackson b Warrier 19, Chetan Sakaria c Indrajith b Warrier 9, Ravindra Jadeja lbw b Aparajith 15, Arpit Vasavada b Ajith Ram 21, Samarth Vyas lbw b Pradosh 5, Prerak Mankad b Ajith Ram 1, Dharmendra Jadeja (not out) 22, Yuvraj Dodiya b Siddharth 0; Extras (nb-3, b-1, lb-1): 5; Total (in 79.4 overs): 192.
Fall of wickets: 1-37, 2-56, 3-81, 4-101, 5-124, 6-160, 7-164, 8-166, 9-190.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Warrier 13-2-36-2, Siddharth 23.4-9-44-3, Trilok Nag 7-3-20-0, Ajith Ram 15-5-39-3, Aparajith 15-1-39-1, Vijay Shankar 5-2-9-0, Pradosh 1-0-3-1.
Tamil Nadu — 2nd innings: Sai Sudharsan b Dharmendra Jadeja 37, N. Jagadeesan c Jani b Dharmendra Jadeja 0, Shahrukh Khan b Ravindra Jadeja 2, B. Aparajith b Dharmendra Jadeja 4, B. Indrajith b Ravindra Jadeja 28, Pradosh Ranjan Paul lbw b Ravindra Jadeja 8, Vijay Shankar lbw b Ravindra Jadeja 10, Ajith Ram b Ravindra Jadeja 7, M. Siddharth b Ravindra Jadeja 17, Sandeep Warrier c Dharnendra Jadeja b Ravindra Jadeja 4, Trilok Nag (not out) 7; Extras (nb-1, b-8): 9; Total (in 36.1 overs): 133.
Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-4, 3-17, 4-75, 5-77, 6-87, 7-105, 8-108, 9-112.
Saurashtra bowling: Dharmendra Jadeja 15-0-64-3, Ravindra Jadeja 17.1-3-53-7, Yuvraj 4-1-8-0.
Saurashtra — 2nd innings: Harvik Desai (batting) 3, Jay Gohil b Siddharth 0, Chetan Sakariya (batting) 1; Total (for one wkt. in four overs): 4.
Fall of wicket: 1-23.
Tamil Nadu bowling: Siddharth 2-0-3-1, Ajith Ram 1-0-1-0, Aparajith 1-1-0-0.