Catches, sprints, clean pick-ups and throws to effect impossible run outs, he’s done them all
Sreshth Shah03-Mar-2020
Catch off Jason Roy, 2019 World Cup league match
India’s bowlers were posing no challenge for England’s openers when Jadeja pulled off one of the best catches of the tournament. At 160 for no loss, India’s morale had dropped. Just a while earlier, replays proved they had erred by not reviewing an lbw call. Jason Roy had just deposited Kuldeep Yadav for a six over long-on. But when he tried to repeat that shot, substitute fielder Jadeja ran forward from long-on and dived full length to take a dipping catch just inches from the ground. The umpires had to go upstairs to confirm whether the catch was clean, but Jadeja’s body language told you the story. For a moment, Roy stood rooted to the spot, but eventually began the slow walk back.Run-out of Mohammad Mithun, Asia Cup 2018 final
At 139 for 3 in the 28th over on a tired surface, Bangladesh looked good to post a defendable total in Dubai, until Jadeja decided to change the script. Yuzvendra Chahal’s flighted delivery had just been creamed by Liton Das through the extra-cover region, and it nearly went all the way, but for a flying blue blur. Jadeja leaped to his left to grab the ball with his left hand, dragged it back into his hand for a proper grip, got on to his knees and flung the ball towards the non-striker’s stumps – all in one fluid motion. Chahal whipped the bails off, leaving Mohammad Mithun stranded well outside his crease. Mithun was certain the ball would beat Jadeja, but it didn’t, and it played a hand in Bangladesh’s lower order collapse. Not only was the run-out important but so was the stopped single since India eventually chased Bangladesh’s 222 down off the final delivery of the match.Run-out of Shahid Afridi, Asia Cup 2016 match
Shahid Afridi was trying to steal a second run in the eighth over with Pakistan 41 for 5. But he took on the wrong fielder. The first run was easy enough, as Jadeja ambled towards the ball at square leg. That was the dummy. As soon as Afridi turned for the second run, Jadeja sprinted towards the ball and in a flash released it with a rocket throw to MS Dhoni, who whipped the bails off. Pakistan were eventually all out for 83.Shane Watson dismissed caught and bowled, T20I series in Australia, 2016
Completing a caught-and-bowled dismissal off a well-struck shot is always a toughie. The bowler has to break his follow through midway, then stick his hand/s out, and finally hope that the ball sticks. But with Jadeja, all that is second nature. During India’s memorable T20I series win in Australia in 2016, Jadeja produced a stunner that would have burst through the hands of most others. The delivery wasn’t great, outside off and in the slot for the big-shouldered Shane Watson to smash it, and the batsman obliged with no half measures.The umpire moved to his right to take cover, but Jadeja was there to protect him. Jadeja – from wide of the crease around the wicket – shuffled to his right to get in front of the non-striker’s stumps, lifted his arms over his head, and plucked the ball out, much to Watson’s disbelief. Australia’s misery was compounded six balls later when Jadeja combined with Dhoni to dismiss Aaron Finch for a 48-ball 74. Those two dismissals broke Australia’s back, silenced the SCG crowd, and eventually handed India a 27-run victory.Run-out of Ross Taylor, 2019 World Cup semi-final
It would be a lot to unpack if you were told that Martin Guptill’s run-out of Dhoni in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup was the second best run-out of the match. In the first innings, Ross Taylor, on 73, flicked Jasprit Bumrah into the gap behind square for two. It was a regulation two, but what Taylor did not account for was Jadeja. When he collected the ball near deep midwicket, Taylor was a third of the way into his second run, and when the ball was released, Taylor was halfway home. But like a pebble zipping on water when hurled with a zip, Jadeja’s throw cut through the air and hit the stumps on the full. Umpire Paul Reiffel referred it to the TV umpire, but both Taylor and Jadeja knew what the outcome was.
