Jadeja makes a five-star return

The left-arm spinner bagged a fifer as India put Aussies on the mat

That Ravindra Jadeja looked comfortable bowling 22 overs after only five months of a ACL reconstructive surgery to his right knee was nothing short of a medical miracle.

But to bag a fifer on the first day back to Tests? It beggars belief.

Even as adjectives arrive in haste to describe the left-arm spinner’s brilliant return to Test cricket, it’s impossible to ignore that it (figures of 5 for 47) seemed inevitable.

He looked threatening enough when he came on for a one-over stint (7th over) to allow the pacers to switch ends, but when he was brought on for real (in the 17th), the Australians were on high alert. Not that that helped because the visitors were eventually bundled out for 177 from 63.5 overs.

With the pony-tailed Jadeja running through his overs at comical speed and unrelenting accuracy, there was nothing Steven Smith or Marnus Labuschagne or Matt Renshaw or Peter Handscomb or Todd Murphy could do.

It didn’t help that they let their premonitions of a wicked pitch live rent-free in their mind.

The fact is, the pitch had not much part to play in Australia’s dismal start in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the VCA stadium: it stayed a tad low occasionally but it was mostly alright. Especially the ‘doctored’ spot outside the left-hander’s off-stump, which was barely a victim to traffic, cannot be blamed.

Take Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul’s stay for instance. Even if you account for the not-so-tight spin unit, they were not troubled until Rahul (20) lazily got out minutes before stumps. Australian pacers didn’t enjoy much success either.

In the process, India reached 77 for 1 from 24 overs, trailing by 100 runs, with Rohit on 56 not out and kind-of nightwatchman R Ashwin on nought.

Quite the opening statement by the team, and an equally wholesome day for Indian cricket enthusiasts.

Minutes before the toss, former India coach Ravi Shastri presented Suryakumar Yadav with his Test cap, and Cheteshwar Pujara handed KS Bharat his debut.

As if that moment wasn’t warm enough, family members of both players were allowed to be on the ground for the ceremony. Pleasantries were exchanged, pictures were taken, and now it was time for cricket.

What Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami started, reducing Australia to 2 for 2 in 2.1 overs, Jadeja and R Ashwin (3/42) took over. Thereafter, Siraj, Shami and Axar Patel could only look on as the second-best Indian spin duo in terms of numbers in history reunited to devastating effect.

With 439 wickets from 44 Tests, Ashwin and Jadeja are 62 scalps behind leaders Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh (501 from 54 Tests). Going by the happenings of the opening day, it won’t come as a surprise if they leapfrog their predecessors in this series itself.

Australia, meanwhile, looked a jaded bunch as they walked off the field.

They would have hoped for the Smith-Labuschagne alliance to save them as it has many a time, but it didn’t.

They would have liked to put behind the controversial decision to leave out Travis Head, but they can’t, not after batting like this.

They would have hoped for debutant off-spinner Todd Murphy to do something on a pitch which was supposed to help him. He didn’t disappoint but he wasn’t particularly inspiring.

Perhaps, Australia can put this day behind them and offer India a challenge in the days to come. If not, this Test, and possibly even the series, is going to be a tedious spectacle.