Watch: Ravindra Jadeja hilariously pretends to throw ball past boundary to keep Pat Cummins off strike

Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had a hilarious moment on the field during the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 against Australia in Melbourne. Ravindra Jadeja hilariously pretended to throw the ball outside the boundary line to keep Australian skipper Pat Cummins off strike.

India was dismissed for 369 runs on Sunday, December 29 after adding just 11 runs to their overnight score. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored his maiden Test century on Day 3, was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 114, while Mohammed Siraj remained unbeaten on 4. Australia took a crucial 105-run first innings lead.

Watch: Ravindra Jadeja Hilariously Pretends to Throw Ball Past Boundary

In the 64th over of Australia’s second innings, Mohammed Siraj bowled a short delivery to Pat Cummins, who top-edged a pull shot. The ball went in the air but dropped safely, with Ravindra Jadeja running to his left from deep mid-wicket but unable to reach it. Jadeja pretended to throw the ball past the boundary.

Have a look at the incident right here:

pic.twitter.com/MkZt6AUmLk

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However, Cummins' decision to take a single backfired as he was dismissed on the first ball of the next over. Jadeja bowled a slower delivery on a length around off, which turned away. Cummins edged the ball to skipper Rohit Sharma at slip, who took the catch. Cummins was dismissed for 41 runs from 90 balls.

Australia Scored Crucial Runs in Their Second Innings with Bat

In the morning session, Jasprit Bumrah removed Sam Konstas to give his team a breakthrough. Mohammed Siraj silenced his critics after removing Khawaja. However, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith then added 37 runs for the third wicket before Siraj broke the stand by dismissing Smith.

Bumrah followed up with a stunning spell, removing Travis Head (1), Mitchell Marsh (0), and Alex Carey (2) within 11 balls. Labuschagne struggled with body blows and aggressive bowling. Siraj trapped the right-handed batter for 70 runs in the last session and celebrated wildly after the wicket.

Mitchell Starc was run out for 5 after a mix-up with skipper Pat Cummins, with Rishabh Pant completing a sharp run out at the non-striker’s end. However, Cummins troubled the Indian bowlers by ticking the scorecard.

Ravindra Jadeja Needs to Practice a Little More Against Spin - Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar believes Ravindra Jadeja needs more practice against spin after his dismissal in India’s first innings. Manjrekar said that Jadeja was solid against fast bowlers but struggled against Nathan Lyon. Jadeja scored 17 runs off 51 balls before being dismissed by the Australian off-spinner.

"He played the fast bowlers a lot and played them very well. He didn't make even a slight mistake against the fast bowlers. However, once Nathan Lyon came, he was expecting off-spin, that the ball would turn. His bat came for the off-spin and the ball was not turning at all. So he played with that mindset," he responded.

"It seems like Jadeja needs to practice a little more against spin because he is looking absolutely comfortable against seam."

Also read: Watch: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli shocked as 'Lucky' Marnus Labuschagne escapes dismissal at MCG