On Friday, November 1, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on the first day of the third Test match between India and New Zealand, Ravindra Jadeja passed fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan to become the fifth-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket.
Jadeja had only claimed six wickets in the two games prior to this encounter. The spin-bowling all-rounder, however, took advantage of the circumstances and used his unwavering steadiness and cunning to weave a web around the New Zealand hitters.
Both Ishant and Zaheer have taken 311 wickets in their respective 188 and 165 innings of play. The Saurashtra cricketer entered the third Test with 309 wickets from 144 innings. He equalled Ishant and Zaheer’s total by taking the wickets of Will Young and Tom Blundell in the 45th over. When he removed Glenn Phillips in the 53rd over, Jadeja outscored the seasoned players.
The 35-year-old is the only Indian bowler with more wickets in the game’s longest format, trailing only Anil Kumble, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kapil Dev, and Harbhajan Singh.
With a five-for, Ravindra Jadeja defeats New Zealand by 235.
Earlier in the day, Tom Latham chose to bat first on the red-soil field at Wankhede Stadium after winning the toss. Jadeja and Washington Sundar bowled brilliantly to get India back into the game after New Zealand had established a stable position at 159/3.
Daryl Mitchell battled the hot and muggy weather at the legendary stadium to knock a tough 82 from 129 balls. His knock enabled the tourists to surpass the 200-run threshold. In the same over, Jadeja took out Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi, recording his 14th five-for in Test cricket.
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Washington bowled out New Zealand for 235 in the third session after dismissing Ajaz Patel to end the match. Jadeja’s incredible 5/65 spell was matched by Washington’s final figures of 4/81.
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