As the world’s top ranked Test all-rounder steps onto the turf, he officially becomes the first-ever Asian cricketer to play 50 World Test Championship matches. Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has officially written his name into the history books by taking the field for the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.
This remarkable milestone highlights an incredible run of consistency and durability for the 37 year old Jamnagar native. Across his previous 49 appearances in the championship format, Jadeja has delivered a masterclass in all-round balance by accumulating 2,632 runs alongside 160 wickets. Global And National Leaderboards On the global front, England skipper Joe Root leads all players with 78 WTC appearances, sitting atop an exclusive group where only 11 cricketers worldwide have reached the 50-match milestone. Meanwhile, on the Indian leaderboard, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj share second place with 46 matches apiece.
Because there’s always room for improvement, and I think we played a pretty good match, a decent match, we’re expecting the same, but I think for the first two or three days, I think it’ll be a really good wicket to bat on. [Playing XI] Kuldeep, unfortunately, had some infections, so he misses out, and Saransh makes his debut for India. [How he would rate the Galle win] I would say probably a nine,. Because you’re playing for five days, and to play that dominant and consistent cricket, especially in Test, is hard, it’s very, very difficult to be able to have a near-perfect game. He enters this landmark fixture riding high on momentum, having recently claimed four scalps, including a vital three-wicket burst in the first innings, to steer India to victory in Galle. Shubman Gill: Batting first, yes. [On the pitch] It looks like a much harder, much better surface compared to Galle. Galle was also a very good wicket, but I think as the game went on, it got a little bit slower and the ball started to turn. And obviously there were some areas where we could have got a little bit better, but, you know, this is Test cricket. But I think overall we had a pretty good match.
