Ajay Jadeja, a protégé of Haryana senior Kapil Dev and a descendant of Ranji and Duleep, was a mercurial cricketer.
A fantastic strokeplayer who could be unstoppable in ODIs, he was also a rather useful medium-pacer and one of the best ever fielders produced by the country. Added to it was the rakishly infectious smile he wore through every moment that he was out there.
The number of rescue acts from hopeless situations he carried out from the lower middle order defies count, the association with Robin Singh in the 1999 World Cup against Australia perhaps the most telling, the 223-run collaboration with Mohammad Azharuddin at Colombo, 1997, the other near-miraculous effort.
However, some of his most remembered acts were cameos — the 25-ball 45 at Bangalore against Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final a part of cricketing folklore, whereas the run-a-ball 43 in the Titan Cup final of 1996 almost as effective. And who can forget the magnificent running, tumbling catch to dismiss Allan Border in just his second match?
However, through all this there ran an incorrigible strain. He never quite succeeded in Tests, almost abhorred playing them in spite of being made vice-captain, and was prone to carry his smile along with him on his walk back to the pavilion after particularly irresponsible dismissals. Tainted in the CBI report on match-fixing, he was banned for five years in 2000 which effectively ended his international career.
A versatile all-rounder even beyond the cricket ground, he flirted with success in modelling and films, before settling down for another stint of domestic cricket. He met with a lot of success for Delhi till 2004, and as a captain/coach of Rajasthan from 2005 to 2007. In 2013, he returned for a couple of matches for Haryana at the age of 42, with limited success. Jadeja later moved on to coaching and commentary.
With the ODI success and Test failure typecasting him as a limited-overs cricketer, we often forget that Jadeja was an excellent batsman in First-Class cricket who ended with an average of 54 and had a penchant for huge scores. In late 1991, he had a fascinating run of 131 in the Irani Cup, 256 against Services, 228 against Punjab and 199 against Himachal Pradesh. He also scored 254 not out in a victorious tour game in South Africa in 1992-93 against Combined Bowl XI. In 1993, he hit 264 against Central Zone in Duleep Trophy. In all he scored 7 First-Class double-hundreds.
Arunabha Sengupta
Career | M | In | R | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
Test | 15 | 24 | 576 | 2 | 96 | 26.18 | 1460 | 39.45 | 0 | 4 | 62 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
ODIs | 196 | 179 | 5359 | 36 | 119 | 37.47 | 7682 | 69.76 | 6 | 30 | 366 | 85 | 59 | 0 |
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
World Cup | 21 | 18 | 522 | 3 | 100* | 34.80 | 731 | 71.40 | 1 | 2 | 39 | 9 | 5 | 0 |
Career | M | B | R | W | Avg | EC | SR | 5WI | 10WM | BBI | BBM |
Test | 15 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
ODIs | 196 | 1248 | 1094 | 20 | 54.70 | 5.259 | 62.40 | 0 | 0 | 3/3 | 3/3 |
T20s | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
World Cup | 21 | 170 | 143 | 3 | 47.66 | 5.047 | 56.66 | 0 | -- | 2/32 | 3/3 |
Test Debut
South Africa v India at Kingsmead, Durban, November 13, 1992
Last Test
India v South Africa at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, February 24, 2000
ODI Debut
India v Sri Lanka at Ray Mitchell Oval, Harrup Park, Mackay, February 28, 1992
Last ODI
India v Pakistan at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, June 3, 2000
Former Indian fast bowler Ashish Nehra believes Manish Pandey's inconsistency has led to his ouster from the national team. Pandey ...
Unhappy with the CSK skipper coming too late in the batting order, Jadeja also said that no one has won fighting from behind.
Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore were locked in a must-win game against Rajasthan Royals but the match was abandoned late Tuesday ...
Bishan Singh Bedi termed the ball tampering scandal involving top Australian cricketers “one of modern day cricket's great tragedies” ...
Ajay Jadeja also asked people to appreciate BCCI rather than pin pointing the organisation's flaws repeatedly.
Ajay Jadeja feels the first Test against South Africa, starting in the friendly conditions of Cape Town on Friday, will provide India ...
Jadeja's 25-ball 45 helped India post 287/8 in 50 overs, which proved out of Pakistan's reach.
A team of Indian international cricketers who have never played T20 cricket and have featured prominently after 1985.
Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium witnessed one of the most intense India-Pakistan clashes in the World Cup that day: a captain withdrew, ...
In a last-minute change of mind, Raman Sharma decided to change its course and adjusted his hat.
The laws underwent a change thereafter, probably due to Jadeja’s antics.
India enjoy a formidable record in the eight matches that they’ve played in Kochi.
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - 1st Test
SL 229/3 OVERS: 73.0
BAN 541/7 (173.0 Ovs)
SL trail by 312 runs
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - 2nd T20I
PAK 99 OVERS: 19.5
ZIM 118/9 (20.0 Ovs)
Zimbabwe beat Pakistan by 19 runs
Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians - Match 17
PBKS 82/1 OVERS: 13.0
MI 131/6 (20.0 Ovs)
PBKS need 50 runs in 42 balls at 7.14 rpo
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh - 2nd Test
29 Apr, 2021 10:00 IST
Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - 1st Test
29 Apr, 2021 13:00 IST
Harare Sports Club, Harare
24 Apr, 2021 13:00 IST
Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur
Zimbabwe vs Pakistan - 3rd T20I
25 Apr, 2021 14:30 IST
Harare Sports Club, Harare
Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 19
25 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 24
29 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 28
02 May, 2021 15:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Capitals - Match 35
08 May, 2021 15:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Chennai Super Kings vs Punjab Kings - Match 37
09 May, 2021 15:30 IST
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings - Match 42
13 May, 2021 15:30 IST
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 18
24 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals - Match 20
25 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 21
26 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 22
27 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 23
28 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Delhi Capitals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 25
29 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 26
30 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 27
01 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals - Match 29
02 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 30
03 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Mumbai Indians - Match 31
04 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 32
05 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings - Match 33
06 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 34
07 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians - Match 36
08 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 38
09 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 39
10 May, 2021 19:30 IST
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 40
11 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 41
12 May, 2021 19:30 IST
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 43
13 May, 2021 19:30 IST
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 18
24 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 19
25 Apr, 2021 15:30 IST | 10:00 GMT
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Delhi Capitals - Match 20
25 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Punjab Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Match 21
26 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match 22
27 Apr, 2021 19:30 IST | 14:00 GMT
Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad
Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 16
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Rajasthan Royals by 10 wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings - Match 15
Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 18 runs
Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad - Match 14
Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Punjab Kings by 9 wickets
Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians - Match 13
Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians by 6 wickets
Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals - Match 12
Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by 45 runs