Ravindra Jadeja becomes 5th Indian to register 200 wickets on home soil

India’s premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has become just the 5th Indian bowler to claim 200 wickets on home soil by getting the wicket of England captain Ben Stokes in the 2nd innings of the 3rd Test. After scoring a splendid and much-needed century in the 1st innings, Jadeja carried that momentum with the ball and achieved back-to-back milestones in front of home support at the Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot.

In the 1st innings, Ravindra Jadeja scored a very good 112 runs to compliment Rohit Sharma’s 131-run knock and helped India score 445 runs in the 1st innings. Jadeja amassed his 2nd Test century in Rajkot and 4th overall in international red-ball matches in what is his 3rd Test match at the venue.

He was a key part behind India’s charge towards a 400+ score but the only mistake he made on day 1 was that his mistake led to the run-out of debutant Sarfaraz Khan who was playing very well and had scored a very composed half-century. It almost seemed as if he would be scoring a century on debut but a terrible mix-up that was initiated by Jadeja and the darting throw from Mark Wood meant that Sarfaraz’s debut inning was restricted to 62 runs.

Ravindra Jadeja continued his form with the ball, racking up 2 wickets which were also his 200th and 201st wickets on home soil. He could not have chosen a better venue than Rajkot to join the elite list, which is spearheaded by former head coach and legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble.

The 35-year-old now has 3005 runs in Test cricket and 283 wickets overall. Now Jadeja’s next aim will be to see his side claim a victory in this Test match and double their lead over the visitors who are aiming to become the first team since 2o12 to beat India in India in a red-ball series.

Watch: Ravindra Jadeja’s 200th Test wicket on home soil

#TeamIndia snag wickets for dessert 🍰 right after Lunch! 👌#INDvENG #JioCinemaSports #BazBowled #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries pic.twitter.com/AsabZXcy6S

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 17, 2024

If we talk about his 200th Test wicket then it came right after the Lunch break in a very important juncture of the game. English skipper Ben Stokes was looking in good form and was just 9 runs short of his half-century when he decided to smack one over mid-wicket for a six during the 66th over bowled by Ravindra Jadeja.

Stokes picked Jadeja’s line very well but he was not able to time it properly with the ball going straight up in the air and falling in the safe hands of 2nd Test’s man of the match Jasprit Bumrah for 41. With that wicket, the Rockstar joins the likes of Anil Kumble, Ravi Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, and Kapil Dev who have 350, 347, 265, and 219 Test wickets at home.

It took Ravindra Jadeja 71 matches to reach the milestone. In 2013, he became the first bowler since Anil Kumble to reach the pinnacle of the ICC bowler’s ranking from India back in 1993 before becoming the fastest left-arm bowler ever to register the fastest 200 wickets in Test cricket in 2019. Fair to say that Jadeja is a serial record chaser and a win in the 3rd Test will be the best way to cap off his home return.