Just defending against spinners does not account for sound technique, and that was the apparent difference between Sai Sudharan and Ravindra Jadeja, on day 5 of the IND vs SA Test, in Guwahati. Sudharsan had a troublesome stay at the crease for 139 deliveries, where he just scored 14 runs; did not look to score at all, and let the pressure build.
Ravindra Jadeja wages lone battle
Against spinners, his mindset was the problem, where close-in fielders surrounded him, one-by-one kept increasing, the batter just could not come up with a release shot — and never went over the top or looked to attack. Eventually he edged one from Senuran Muthusamy, with Markram completing a catch.
Other Indian batters poor
This is in complete contrast to how Jadeja played. With the ball turning viciously, the southpaw looked to attack, swept a lot from the line of the ball and was mighty successful. It was day and light — in the way Jaddu played, and how Sudharsan struggled. Eventually, with the help of four fours and two sixes, he brought up his 28th fifty.
What was unfortunate to see was, upon reaching the fifty, it was not his usual sword celebration — that has become a trademark of his game. It was a rather muted one, that only showed his disappointment. Eventually, he was stumped for 54 on the bowling of Keshav Maharaj.
As for the other batters, Rishabh Pant couldn’t tackle Harmer’s spin, and so couldn’t Dhruv Jurel.
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