Jadeja dedicates 'special' ton to his mother

Ravindra Jadeja was a picture of calmness at the post-match press conference. He answered most of the questions with a smile and as he walked back to the team bus, the all-rounder obliged for a selfie with a group of fans. It was his day and the Saurashtra batsman enjoyed all the attention.

The unbeaten 100 on Friday meant a lot to the southpaw. Just a month ago, he had missed out on his maiden ton again after he was left stranded on 86 at The Oval against England. This time however, with the Indian innings in a similar situation, the 29-year-old made sure he touched the three-figure mark. That he did it in front of his home crowd, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium, made the effort that much more special.

“I was just telling myself that I shouldn’t play a loose shot, I didn't want to play a wrong shot and get out. I was talking to Umesh (Yadav) and (Mohammed) Shami as well that I needed to play and score this hundred. Today I was very calm and not in a hurry. I was just looking to play till the last ball.

“It is always special to score a hundred. It was my first Test hundred, so it was very special for me. In the past I got to 80s and 90s but could not score a century. I felt bad at those times but luckily today, on my home ground, I scored a hundred,” said Jadeja.

His customary sword-dance celebration might have overshadowed the poignant moment. Jadeja looked up in the air in delight after reaching the ton in a salute to his late mother. “I want to dedicate this century to my mother. It was her dream that I play for India. Today she is no more. So this century is for my mother,” he said.

Jadeja somewhat could have ruined his big day in the final session. The West Indies pair of Sunil Ambris and Shimron Hetmyer was at the same end in an ugly mix up. Jadeja, who had the ball, had to just either throw the ball to bowler R Ashwin or run and knock down the stumps. Surprisingly, he chose to have a bit of fun and delayed the run out. Hetymer, sensing a chance, rushed back but Jadeja responded quickly and hit the stumps.

“Jo aapne dekha, wohi hua" (What you saw was exactly what happened),” Jadeja laughed. "When I saw both the batsmen at the same end, I did not think he (Hetmyer) would give so much of effort, in that heat, to run towards the non-striker’s end. I was relaxed (thinking) that I would complete the run-out normally. Thank god, things ended well,” he said.