Putting the ‘extra’ in ‘ordinary’

Madhu Jawali, Pune, DHNS

In an attack where each bowler has something unique to brag about, Ravindra Jadeja has nothing exciting to boast of. Not that he cares, but the left-arm spinner isn’t someone you expect to produce a ball that will be discussed and deciphered for years to come. For example, reams were written about R Ashwin’s dismissal of David Warner  -- with what was described as a “reverse carrom ball” -- in the second of the three-match ODI series just before the World Cup commenced.  

Ashwin isn’t the only gifted bowler in this India bowling unit. Jasprit Bumrah can claim to have more varieties in his armour than the number of balls in an over, Kuldeep Yadav’s skills as a left-arm wrist spin bowler are mesmerising even on pitches that don’t offer much turn, Mohammed Shami’s ram-rod straight seam is a thing of beauty in cricket and Mohammed Siraj’s banana swing is as delightful as it’s deadly.  

What would you say about Jadeja though? Keeping it simple, landing all six balls in one place, accurate...? Nothing out of the ordinary, one might say. But then it’s these “ordinary” aspects that have netted him 209 ODI wickets, the most by any bowler in the current Indian attack. We keep hearing ad nauseum cricketers talk about “sticking to basics”, “keeping things simple” or “following the routine” but Jadeja follows them to the T and few cricketers have turned their limitations into strength like Jadeja has.

“Six out of six times, he will land the ball on that point,” said Anil Kumble, who knows a thing or two about spin bowling, while analysing 34-year-old’s bowling on an ESPNCricinfo show following India’s opening World Cup match against Australia.

But behind that casual, unpretentious person lurks a thinking bowler. A street-smart cricketer who knows what to do -- but more importantly, what not to -- in the given conditions to get on top of a batter. The manner in which he dismissed a well-set Steve Smith in Chennai was an illustration of that point.

“My plan was simple; I was thinking that ‘this is a Test-match bowling wicket, I shouldn’t experiment too much’, because everything was happening off the wicket. So, I was trying to keep it stump to stump,” he explained the plan that went behind Smith’s dismissal. “Some balls would turn, some would go straight so it won’t be easy for the batsman to line up. This was my plan that I should bowl at the stumps and luckily the ball to Smith turned a little more. It helped me, because I knew the conditions in Chennai. I’ve been playing here for like 10-11 years, so I know the conditions at this ground.”

Kumble threw more light on Jadeja’s methods.

“On a surface like this, all he did was change the angles,” Kumble pointed out. “He went close to the stumps, bowled to the right-hander and then went round, slightly wide and threw that angle in.

“That is what got Smith out. He was thinking that it would come straight, but because of the angle, it beat his outside edge. Brilliant bowling.”

Jadeja the batter hasn’t gotten a chance to show up yet in this tournament -- and the southpaw and the Indian team would certainly want it to remain that way -- but with five wickets in three matches he has underlined his significance to the side. He has the ability to dry up runs on pitches that don’t offer him the turn -- like against Afghanistan -- and he becomes your trump card on surfaces that suit his bowling -- like against Australia.        

Like Hardik Pandya, Jadeja is a true all-rounder whose value to the side is immeasurable. Wit bat alone or ball alone, he can make an instant impact. Throw in his electric fielding -- he does  seem ageless, doesn’t he? -- and you get the quintessential three-dimensional cricketer who will continue to influence India’s fortunes over the next five weeks.