Ravindra Jadeja Stands Alone Again on the Brink of a Greatness

Ro-Ko with the bat, Ravichandran Ashwin with the ball at home, and Jasprit Bumrah's command with the ball, particularly in clutch moments, are often spoken about well. On the other side, though, there is a man who has averaged less than Yashashvi Jaiswal since 2018, while winning an equal number of games as Ashwin and Bumrah with the ball, silently weaving his magic.

Ravindra Jadeja is a cricketing gem, as he continues to prove. With the bat, he has been rock solid and easily the most dependable with countless knocks both at home and away for India. With the ball, he has been an accurate beast, hitting a good length in his sleep, and his fielding is something that speaks for itself. A player who is supposed to be among the first on the team list, Jadeja's silence and lack of glamour have often led to questions over his presence. He has outlasted his long-standing teammates, the only one from the previous golden group, highlighting his longevity and fitness.

For years, Jadjea has proved himself as a genuine all-rounder across conditions. He picks himself as a batter with his numbers alone in the top six, and his accurate bowling makes him an indispensable spinner in Test Cricket both at home and away. With all the talent and skill, though, Jadeja's lack of glamour often sees him miss out on a performance that can etch him among greatness.

The man has a century in England, 5-for in the Lords, fifties in the toughest conditions in Australia, and now 2 more fifties at the Lords to go with this fifty at the venue back in 2018. For Jadeja, though, moments of greatness have always been close could have been. Looking at parallels with another great all-rounder in Ben Stokes tells a story of its own. Ben Stokes has the 2019 World Cup Final at Lord's. Jadeja, though, came close to having his moment with a priceless 77 that kept India in the hunt from an even more challenging position, but he failed to cross the final hurdle. Today, Jadeja had a chance to do something similar to the Headingley special from Ben Stokes, but again fell short, stranded on 61 at the non-strikers' end. 20 more runs and stories, tales would have been told about Jadeja's greatness.

The Lord's Test though, stands as a big opportunity for him to give storytellers a warrior's story. An old-school cricketer doing his role and silently proving his strength as the greatest Indian Test Cricketer of the generation as his counterparts retired. Jadeja, with four half-centuries in four innings, came into bat when there was some chaos happening. He stuck around with Nitish Kumar Reddy as the two defended like solid rocks. Losing Nitish Reddy on the stroke of lunch added to the challenges, though. India were already a tailender down with Akash Deep going in as nightwatchman. 

Jadeja went on to make 61 runs out of the 99 that were scored when he went out to bat and faced 30 overs out of the 55 on his own. His basics were on display, and that is what kept him in the crease for a long time despite also seeming like a slight weakness. Lords is a ground which has decent dimensions, but it is not like the MCG, where you get big pockets to push for twos. Jadeja, one of the faster runners between wickets himself, could not find pockets for twos. With the old ball not sliding off the outfield and England setting defensive fields, Jadeja found it all the tougher to force the pace. To Jadeja's disadvantage, he isn't one of those players who go for unconventional shots or scoops, leaving him with the only option of taking one run an over, leaving the number ten and eleven to survive a ball or two.

Jadeja, though, knew he could do it in singles if he had to. A new ball was due, leading to another challenge, but that could have also been a chance for quick runs if needed. Even without, there was time for him to get through before the 80-over mark. He knew he had to take it deep with conditions, and the English fielders not allowing him any room. He was the last man standing between England a Lord's victory and was so engulfed in the game he did not bring out the sword as he crossed fifty. Jadeja buckled down and went from taking India as far as they could go to almost getting into touching distance of victory. He did it before at Manchester in 2019 during an ODI. 8 Months ago he was the last one standing as his teammates fell like a pack of cards at the Gabba, watching on. Today it was him again offering resistance in the most Jadeja-like fashion.

He's faced a lot of heartbreak, taking his team close from a situation of no hope. he did the same today, getting India hoping when it was done and dusted. He did not show much emotion when Siraj played the last ball onto his stumps and rather stood on watching. He inspired and continues to do so. He is the best all-rounder at the moment, holding onto his number one ranking for more than 1000 days, and his heroics are likely to be what India will look for as an inspiration as they head to Manchester. For Jadeja, though, Lord's was a heroic effort with a sad ending as Jadeja almost etched himself in the book of greatness once more. He will likely go down as a legend but for now another moment of greatness elludes him as Jadeja looks back at yet another heartbreak with a view on what could have been.