After India’s emphatic victory by an innings and 132 runs in the opening Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja took a jibe at Australia for their pre-match talk on the Nagpur pitch.
Jadeja starred with both bat and ball for India and deservedly earned the Player of the Match award. While the southpaw scored 70 in India’s only innings, he returned with seven scalps in the match, including a five-wicket haul in Australia’s first essay.
"I feel they were seeing the rough from the moment they sat on the flight. The atmosphere they created that it would spin; it didn't spin that much. If we see, they got out more to straight balls. We also got out lbw on straight balls," the left-arm spinner stated while speaking on Star Sports.
"This is bound to happen in India because we will obviously play to our team's strength. Our fast bowlers are also good, but spinners win more matches in India and pick up wickets, so why shouldn't we go with our strength?" said Jadeja.
The accusation of ‘doctored pitches’ hogged the headlines before the start of the first Test. The noise intensified after Australia’s first innings folded for a paltry 177 on Day 1.
However, the hosts racked up a massive 400 on the same surface to put the ‘doctored pitches’ allegations to rest.
In their second innings, the Australian batting line-up once again fell like a pack of cards. The visitors were bowled out for a paltry 91 in just 32.3 overs as the Test match got over inside three days.
Jadeja said that the Indian team will be high on confidence after this dominant display and the Pat Cummins-led side will be under pressure ahead of the second Test in Delhi.
"As a team, everyone's confidence will be high because almost all batters contributed, and all three spinners picked up wickets. Akshar didn't get to bowl much in the second innings because Ash (Ashwin) only completed the job."
"Everyone is bowling well and contributing, so when you win by an innings and such a big margin, I feel the confidence level is boosted. There will be more pressure on them in the upcoming game that how they will play the spinners."
The second Test is scheduled to get underway from February 17.
