'A special moment' – Joyful Jadeja reflects on maiden century
The 29-year-old left-arm spinning all-rounder has scored three triple centuries in Indian domestic cricket – all at this venue, his home ground in Rajkot – but before today just had nine fities in Test cricket, with a top score of 90.
He put that right on the second day against the West Indies, making an unbeaten 100* before Virat Kohli declared on 649/9.
“Obviously after nine years of international cricket I am scoring a hundred, so it is a special moment,” he said. “Whenever I reached 70-80 in the past I thought about my hundred, but threw my wicket away.”
Jadeja’s career in all three formats hasn’t quite panned out the way he would have wished. But he does not whine about it & gives his best wherever he gets a chance. I admire him for that. Congratulations to him on a maiden Test ton.👏👏👏🙏.#INDvsWI
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 5, 2018
His all-round talents have rarely been in question but, with a Test batting average of 30.83, he has perhaps simply lacked the consistency required to make high scores regularly on the biggest stage.
“I have made big hundreds in the domestic circuit, so I thought I can get hundreds at international level,” Jadeja said. “Today I told myself that I need to reach the mark, I kept telling myself not to play a loose shot and get out.”
He eventually went to a hundred with a scampered single to mid-off off Kraigg Brathwaite.
“I was really happy,” he said. “Whenever you get your first Test hundred it gives you a lot of joy.”
Jadeja went on to take 1/9 and effect a run-out as Windies sunk to 94/6 overnight.