India need to get wickets in the first session of the fourth day: Ravindra Jadeja

After three days of riveting cricket in the fifth Test at The Kennington Oval in London, England are in a comfortable position as they lead by 154 runs. Alastair Cook and skipper Joe Root haven’t looked in much trouble and India need to dismiss them at the earliest in order to restrict the Three Lions from setting a massive target for the visiting team to chase down.

Two days are still remaining in the final encounter and barring a miracle, the match is slated to produce a result. In the meantime, Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who is playing his first match of the series, reckons that the first session on the fourth day will be vital. The 31-year-old said that they need to pick up wickets in the pre-lunch session in order to halt England’s surge.

“I think we need to restrict England as early as possible – we need to get wickets in the first session tomorrow; around 250 is a par score,” Jadeja was quoted as saying in India Today.

It’s all about pride whenever you represent your country

Jadeja didn’t play the first four matches as Ravichandran Ashwin and Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav were preferred ahead of him. However, he proved a point with an all-round performance thus far. The Saurashtra-born player picked up a four-wicket haul in the first innings.

Thereafter, he notched a superlative knock of 86 runs from 156 deliveries, laced with 11 boundaries and a six off fast-bowler James Anderson. He eventually managed to stay not out and brought down India’s first innings deficit to 40. After the third day’s play, Jadeja also mentioned how he approached the game after a long break.

“It’s all about pride whenever you represent your country. After a long time I was playing today so I was looking to play normally – not thinking about how I’m going to play my innings, just trying to focus ball-by-ball,” he added.

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