IND vs ENG 2024: “A wake-up call for Ravindra Jadeja” – Sanjay Manjrekar on the left-arm spinner’s bowling performance

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons Ravindra Jadeja was put under pressure after England captain Ben Stokes took him to the cleaners. Jadeja was hit for a couple of sixes by the left-hander and he was not able to keep Stokes at bay.

The left-arm orthodox spinner conceded 88 runs in his spell of 18 overs and took three wickets. Thus, Jadeja conceded his runs at a high economy rate of 4.90.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar remarked: “Yes, he was tested. I’m sure he’ll come up with better plans and better preparation for this kind of approach. Also, it’s unsettled Jadeja a little bit because one of the greatest strengths of Jadeja is his accuracy as a left-arm spinner on these kind of pitches, and if you look at his pitch map, you’ll see that a lot of balls have been loose balls. That is something you don’t expect with Jadeja.”

“It was a bit of a wake-up call for Jadeja, but considering the competitor that he is, I’m sure he’ll just be more wary of this kind of approach,” he added.

Manjrekar reckons Axar Patel bowled better than Ravindra Jadeja on the opening day. Patel returned with figures of 2-33 and he bowled with an economy rate of 2.50.

“Among the spinners, I thought Ravichandran Ashwin was good. Axar Patel (was good as well), thankfully for India, because the last time Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel played together, Axar Patel wasn’t quite in the league of Jadeja. Today, I thought he bowled better than Jadeja, although Jadeja got more bowling.”

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad pitch offered turn to the spinners from the early stages and Manjrekar added it was a typical Indian track.

“It was a typical India pitch that we’ve seen in the last few years: a turner. It’s got that same nature to it. It starts off being very dry, and you already see the top exploding on occasion. So, it’s a typical Indian pitch; that shouldn’t surprise England; they’ve seen this before.”

Indian spin trio bagged a total of eight wickets on the opening day and played a key role in skittling out England at 246.