India star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after a win against Sri Lanka in the 1st Test said performance like this boost confidence of the team. Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged four wickets in 2nd innings, as India defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs in the first Test. India takes an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. “I would say this is my lucky ground. Whenever I come here I get positive vibes. I was looking to build a partnership with Rishabh, give him the strike and enjoy his batting from the other end. To be honest I don’t know about any stat. Feeling very good, happy to score runs and pick wickets for the team,” said Ravindra Jadeja after he received Player of the Match.
“Obviously as a player, you boost your confidence with such a performance. I have not done anything differently, just played to my strengths and I give myself time to settle down. I look to keep it very simple out in the middle. I haven’t played with the SG pink ball, so it is going to be different and I will practice for a couple of days, hopefully, it comes good,” he added.
Resuming post Tea session at 120/4 the Indian spinners continued their wicket-taking spree as Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Charith Asalanka in the third ball post-tea caught by Virat Kohli making him his 435th Test victim and going past Kapil Dev to become India’s second most successful Test bowler behind Anil Kumble who has 619 Test scalps to his name. Ashwin is now ninth in list of all-time highest wicket-taker in Tests.
Five balls later Sri Lanka lost Angelo Mathews for 28 to Ravindra Jadeja’s leg before wicket and then two balls later Suranga Lakmal hold out by Jayant Yadav in mid-on without troubling the scorers. Jadeja got two wickets in one over to take his innings tally to three wickets and match tally to eight to leave visitors tottering at 121/7. Wicket-keeper batter Niroshan Dickwella and Lasith Embuldeniya tried hard to delay the inevitable striking a small partnership and taking their team’s total beyond the 150-run mark. Jadeja once again broke the partnership picking up his fourth wicket of the innings dismissing Embuldeniya for 2.
Dickwella was losing partners at the other end so he started playing shots but Mohammed Shami dismissed Vishwa Fernando for a duck to leave the Islanders at 170/9. Dickwella went on to score his half-century and was the only Lankan batter to do so in 2nd innings.