Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja etched his name among cricket’s greatest on Saturday after completing 4,000 Test runs, becoming only the fourth player in history to achieve the rare double of 4,000 runs and 300 wickets in the longest format. Jadeja reached the milestone on Day 2 of the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata, finishing the opening session unbeaten on 11*.
Across 88 Tests, Jadeja has amassed 4,001 runs at an impressive average of 38.84, including six centuries, 27 fifties, and a career-best 175*.
His 2024 form with the bat has been extraordinary—670 runs in 14 innings at an average of 83.75, featuring two centuries and five half-centuries. With the ball, Jadeja has claimed 338 wickets at 25.25, including 15 five-wicket hauls and three ten-wicket match hauls, with best figures of 7/42.
This year, however, he has had a quieter run with just 15 wickets in nine matches, averaging nearly 50, though he has two four-wicket hauls.
The all-rounder now joins an elite list featuring Kapil Dev (5,248 runs, 434 wickets), Ian Botham (5,200 runs, 383 wickets), and Daniel Vettori (4,531 runs, 362 wickets).
At lunch on Day 2, India reached 138/4, with Jadeja (11*) and Dhruv Jurel holding the crease. Earlier, Rishabh Pant (27 off 24; two fours, two sixes) and Washington Sundar (29 off 82; two fours, one six) failed to convert promising starts. Skipper Shubman Gill retired hurt after suffering neck pain while sweeping a boundary.
India resumed the morning at 37/1, trailing South Africa by 122 runs after their first innings score of 159. KL Rahul (13*) and Washington Sundar (6*) began the day unbeaten.
Winning the toss on Day 1, South Africa chose to bat and started with a solid opening stand between Aiden Markram (31 off 48; five fours, a six) and Ryan Rickelton (23 off 22; four boundaries). But India’s pace duo Jasprit Bumrah (5/27) and Mohammed Siraj (2/47) dismantled the Proteas, bowling them out for 159.
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