“It was clever bowling from Ravindra Jadeja” - Anil Kumble heaps praise on Indian all-rounder

Former Indian spinner and commentator Anil Kumble has heaped praise on the Indian star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who scalped three important wickets in the first innings of the second and final Test against the West Indies in Delhi.

Speaking exclusively on JioHotstar, Kumble asserted that Jadeja has been consistent throughout the innings in finding the rough and getting a sharp turn to disturb the batters, which makes him one of India’s most successful spinners.

“On a surface like this, where the pace has slowed down, as the game has progressed, hitting that spot just short of a length and hurrying the batter is key. That’s exactly the kind of length Jadeja operates in. It’s one of the main reasons why he has been India’s most successful spinner and bowler so far. It’s similar to how a fast bowler needs to hit the pitch hard on a slightly damp surface to get seam movement. Likewise, for a spinner, you can’t just toss it up, you need to bowl it into the surface, which is what Jadeja does so well," stated Kumble while speaking to JioHotstar.

"That’s when the variations and vagaries of the pitch come into play. If it hits the rough, there’s sharp turn due to the pace he bowls at, but if it lands on a decent patch, it can skid through. That makes him so dangerous on such tracks. When he bowls slightly shorter, forcing batters into mistakes, like Roston Chase trying to clear the mid-wicket gap or Chanderpaul getting out to a ball that straightened after Jadeja had been spinning it into him. It was clever bowling from Ravindra Jadeja,” he added.

While Kuldeep Yadav scalped a five-wicket haul on the third day of the game, Jadeja settled with three important wickets. In response to India's 518/5, the West Indies could score only 248 runs before getting bundled out.

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