Team India middle and lower order made merry in the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali as the hosts posted a mammoth total of 574/8 d. Rohit Sharma-led side was in a little trouble at tea on the first day before Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja took them to safer shores.
While Pant blasted a quickfire 96 off 97 as he fell four runs short of what would have been a magnificent century, Jadeja went on to smash his highest score in Test cricket. At no point in the innings, did Jadeja look in any discomfort or any sort of trouble as he just dig in and kept piling on runs.
Jadeja stitched three 100-plus partnerships with Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami as he wielded his bat like a sword not once or twice but three times as he brought up his maiden score in excess of 150.
The 33-year old remained unbeaten on 175 and broke a major record on the way to his marathon knock. Batting at No. 7, Jadeja’s 175* is the highest score for an Indian batsman in Test cricket as the left-hander surpassed Kapil Dev in the elite list. Jadeja broke Kapil’s 35-year old record as the 1983 World Cup-winning captain had scored 163 runs batting at No. 7 against Sri Lanka in Kanpur in December 1986.
After declaring, the Indian team had Sri Lanka four down at the stumps on Day 2 as the visitors are still 466 runs behind. SL openers skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thrimanne stitched a solid partnership of 48 runs and made the Indians wait for more than 18 overs for their first breakthrough. However, after that, it was all India as off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took two wickets while Jadeja and Jaspit Bumrah took one apiece as SL were 108/4 at end of the day’s play.
