Ravindra Jadeja believes India have emerged from a period of acclimatisation to ‘Bazball’ and will find it easier to overcome England in the remainder of the series.
The India spinner is set to return to the side for the third Test in Rajkot tomorrow having missed the game in Visakhapatnam with a hamstring strain.
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The five-match series is beautifully poised at 1-1 – England winning the opener in Hyderabad before India hit back in the most recent encounter.
England, under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, have adopted an all-out attacking approach which has reaped its rewards.
But Jadeja is confident India have worked the tourists out and believes they will show it over the next few days.
“In all these years, whichever team has come they have not found it easy to come to India, play on the Indian wickets and win in Indian conditions,” he said.
“It is not that England are difficult to beat but they play with a different style and it takes some time to understand that. Once you understand that, it becomes easier what to do.
“That is their style. We need to have a plan B and set fields accordingly and bowl to it. We have to do the opposite to what they are doing.”
Jadeja will again form half of a potent-looking spin duo with Ravichandran Ashwin, who is one wicket short of 500 in Test cricket.
Local lad @IMJADEJA has a special wish for @ASHWINRAVI99, who is one wicket away from 5⃣0⃣0⃣ Test wickets 😃👌#TEAMINDIA | #INDVENG | @IDFCFIRSTBANK PIC.TWITTER.COM/ZGN1B8IZRB
— BCCI (@BCCI) FEBRUARY 14, 2024
“He will definitely complete his 500 wickets on this ground,” Jadeja added.
“I am very excited because I have been playing with him for 12 or 13 years and to achieve this milestone of completing 500 Test wickets is a really big thing.
“I thought he would complete it in the first Test but it’s okay, it is written in destiny he will complete his 500 wickets in Rajkot, in my home town.”
At 35, Jadeja is now a veteran of the India side and he said he will need to tread carefully in Rajkot to protect his troublesome hamstring.
“We have the same excitement, and play with the same pride,” he said. “The idea is to give 100 per cent but protect my body. Try not to dive unless absolutely necessary.
“As far as my fielding is concerned, I cannot hide and field. I am always in the hotspot irrespective of the format. So that could also be a reason that the ball comes to me too often. The team expects me to grab a good catch, and affect a run out.
“I can work a little more smartly on my body and if I can do that I don’t think there’ll be any problems as such. Then again, there’s no guarantee. I can go out tomorrow and get injured again. You never know.”
