The Legendary Cricketer Anil Kumble has opined that Ravindra Jadeja was under wraps while Sarfaraz Khan dominated the partnership against England in the 3rd Test.
Anil Kumble on Sarfaraz Khan’s run-out mix-up
India is currently playing in the third test of England’s tour of India 2024 where test debutant Sarfaraz Khan smashed a half-century before being dismissed on a run-out in the first innings of the third test.
Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja also shined in the first innings of the test where they hit centuries. Ravindra Jadeja joined a partnership with Rohit Sharma to help India recover from 33/3 to score 200+ runs in the match.
After Rohit Sharma’s dismissal, Jadeja joined a partnership with Sarfaraz Khan where the debutant smashed a half-century. Batting on the 99 in the final session of day 01, Rajkot’s star Jadeja carelessly called up Sarfaraz Khan for a run where Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed for 62 runs.
Sarfaraz arrived at the crease when Jadeja was 16 runs short of his century. Hoping to help Jadeja reach the triple-digit figures, Sarfaraz had a mix-up with his teammate, which led to the dismissal of the Mumbai batter.
On this occasion, Anil Kumble opened on the dismissal saying, “Yes, Sarfaraz was dominating the partnership but Jadeja, I thought, got into a shell, and that sometimes creates a mindset where you are not clear about the decision-making.”
“Maybe, that was one of the reasons and possibility I passed on my bad luck of my debut run-out to Sarfaraz!,” said Anil Kumble.
“It never looked like it was his first Test innings. We all know about the talent he has and we have seen him dominate spin at the domestic level.”
“But at the Test level, you need a completely different mindset and to have that approach and play that free-flowing innings was brilliant. He was certainly tested by Mark Wood, but coming in and dominating the spinners was outstanding.”
“And the way he batted – more than a run a ball with the kind of shot selection, he was very assured in his approach.”
“After he took the bowlers on, the next ball was played on the backfoot just to maneuver that single and get off strike. Brilliant batting from Sarfaraz,” Kumble added.
India has lost 8 wickets while they scored 400+ runs in the match at the time of writing.
Mark Wood bagged three wickets in the first innings, while James Anderson, Tom Hartley, Joe Root, and Rehan Ahmed bagged one wicket each at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
