Feisty Jadeja shines with the bat against Aussies

DHARAMSALA: Spinner Ravindra Jadeja tops the world rankings for Test bowlers but on Monday it was his batting skills that swung the momentum India’s way in the decisive fourth Test against Australia.

The left-hander batted patiently to see off a testing period from the Aussie new ball pair of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins in the morning session.

Mixing caution and aggression in equal measure, Jadeja ensured the Indians went past Australia’s first innings total of 300, a task that had appeared far from easy after the hosts were restricted to 248-6 the previous day.

His 63-run knock and the 96 runs that he shared with Wriddhiman Saha (31) for the seventh wicket gave India a crucial psychological advantage and dashed Australia’s hopes of wrapping up the Indian innings quickly.

"It was a tough situation as there was seam and bounce in the wicket. Their fast bowlers were bowling at 140 plus," said the 28-year-old Jadeja after the third day’s play.

"It was challenging to face such a situation and today I realised what exactly people mean when they talk about challenges of playing Test cricket.

"The 32-run lead was a bonus and gave us the upper hand. The momentum moved in our favour," said Jadeja, who also picked three wickets.

Top-ranked India need to make 87 runs to clinch the series and regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy with two days to go in the match and all their wickets intact.

Jadeja had also proved to be a thorn in the side for Australia in the drawn Ranchi Test where he struck a fifty and also took nine wickets.

His trademark style of celebrating batting milestones by swinging the bat like a sword also appears to have riled his rivals.

Jadeja and Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade were seen exchanging words on at least a couple of occasions in a tense first session.

"I just told him (Wade) that once you lose and are free, we will have dinner together!"