Toss had effect on game, reckons India all-rounder Jadeja

Battle-hardened all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said the looming series defeat to South Africa will have no bearing on India’s next Test assignment in Sri Lanka in August next year, stressing that forcing a draw in the second Test would be akin to a “win” for the young side.

India are all set to lose the two-Test series against South Africa as it would be impossible to chase down a target of 549 on the final day.

“I don’t think it will affect the next series. But, as a cricketer, nobody wants to lose the series, especially in India. So, hopefully, we will try our best cricket. We will try to put our best foot forward tomorrow,” Jadeja, who has a match-haul of seven wickets, told reporters at the end of the day’s play.

“See, honestly, as a bowler, when we were bowling for the first two days, there were no marks on the wicket. The wicket was shining like a mirror. And, when they came to bowl, because of the wicket taken by the fast bowler, the spinners came into play more. And, their ball was turning and bouncing,” he said.

Jadeja said that once India conceded 288-run first innings lead, Proteas batter played freely in the second essay without worrying about conditions.

“So, as I said, the situation matters a lot in cricket. If it were the other way around, if we were 300 runs ahead and they came to bat, then it’s possible that we would have won by a large margin,” he added.

Jadeja agreed that losing the toss in both games did become a factor.

“Winning or losing the toss is part of the game. But, the effect is there on the game. When you are bowling for the first time, when nothing is happening on the wicket, then you will feel that the spinners are normal and ordinary. But, when you are 300 runs ahead and you are bowling, then you will see every bowler will seem big. So, it’s like that. But, hopefully, we won’t think too much about what happened and what didn’t,” he said.

Jadeja wants the batters to forget the four days that have gone by and focus solely on the final day.

“For us, tomorrow will be very important as a batting unit that we keep ourselves in a positive frame of mind and try to play the whole day,” he said.