Jadeja's dream return catches Bangladesh off-guard

Ravindra Jadeja made a roaring return to limited overs cricket with a four-wicket haul, helping India dismiss Bangladesh for 173 in a Super Four match of the Asia Cup here on Friday.

Ravindra Jadeja immediately turned towards Dhoni and then to captain Rohit after the giant screens proved him right. It was pad first, pitching in line, impact in line and wickets hitting; three reds but alas! The captain and former captain had ignored Jadeja’s pleas of going for a review moments earlier. Jadeja’s dissent towards Dhoni and Rohit was natural but not justified, for it was the same Dhoni-Rohit combination that earned Jadeja his first wicket on ODI return a couple of overs ago. On Friday though Jadeja’s every action, his frenetic appeals, his demands for a field change despite there being no need for it, were justified. After all, not every bowler flies to Dubai on an SOS call and picks up four wickets hours after landing in 42 degrees.

Jadeja had redemption in his eyes. The one year that he spent away from white-ball international cricket did a world of good to his bowling. Focus on prizing the batsman out with deception instead of waiting for him to go for the shot was a direct action of being treated as a Test specialist for the last 12 months And against Bangladesh – India’s first match in the super four stage – it all paid off. A patient Jadeja returned with figures of 4 for 29 – his fourth best in ODIs – to bowl Bangladesh out for 173.

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But Bangladesh did not see it coming. Just like Pakistan did against Jadhav, Bangladesh committed the mistake of treating Jadeja as the fifth bowler. They went after him completely ignoring his vast experience and a new weapon in his armoury – patience.

Shakib Al Hasan’s dismissal was a prime example of his complacency and Jadeja’s perseverance. After taking successive boundaries of Jadeja’s first over, Shakib thought of ending the powerplay on a high, perhaps to relieve his team form the pressure of scoring swiftly against Kuldeep and Chahal. Otherwise how would explain someone of Shakib’s experience to go for an extravagant sweep shot after hitting two boundaries in the previous two balls? Here’s where Jadeja brought his Test match experience into play. The delivery which drew Shakib into a slog sweep landed in the same area where his previous two boundary balls had pitched, the wicket ball a tad slower through the air and Shakib was hold out and square-leg. Credit must be given to Dhoni too; he had removed the slip and stationed it at square-leg after seeing Shakib hit a boundary through the same region.

That wicket killed all the butterflies in Jadeja’s stomach. He settled into a rhythm and started to dry out the runs. Young Mohammad Mithun, having difficulties in differentiating between Jadeja’s sliders and orthodox deliveries was the next to go in Jadeja’s third over. He was trapped right in front for 9 in a sort of action replay of the incident in the 14^th over, where India did not opt for the review.

Mushfiqur, Bangladesh’s lynchpin, repeated Shakib’s mistake, went for a reverse off Jadeja only to be hold out at short thirdman for 21. Only 25 minutes after Jadeja’s introduction, Bangladesh were reduced to 65 for 5. They had already lost both the openers cheaply to India’s deadly new-ball combo of Kumar and Bumrah.

After bowling an 8-over first spell, Jadeja was brought back into the attack in the 32^nd over. He struck in his final over, removing Mosaddek Hossain for 12. Jadeja finished his spell in the 34^th over of the Bangladesh innings and brought by then Bangladesh were on their knees.

The eighth-wicket stand did frustrate India for a little bit but Bumrah and Kumar bowled them out for 173.