Jadeja scripts history, becomes first Indian left-arm bowler to take 350 Test wickets

Ravindra Jadeja became the first Indian left-arm bowler to take 350 Test wickets during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka. The milestone also saw him join Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Daniel Vettori in the elite 4,000-run, 350-wicket club

Galle: Ravindra Jadeja achieved another significant milestone in his illustrious Test career during the ongoing first match against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium in Galle on Monday.

Jadeja, who returned to the Test side after missing the one-off game against Afghanistan, has become the first Indian left-arm bowler to take 350 wickets in the longest international format.

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Jadeja achieved the feat on Day 3 of the first Test at the Galle International Stadium when he removed bowling all-rounder Keshara Nuwantha in the third session of the moving day.

The Indian iconic all-rounder got Nuwantha out with Shubman Gill taking the catch at covers after the Sri Lankan batsman tried whacking a ball towards covers but ended up hitting it to the thigh of an evading Yashasvi Jaiswal at silly point. The ball ricocheted towards Gill, who completed the catch.

In the process, Jadeja became the first Indian left-arm bowler to take 350 wickets in the Test format, with former fast-bowler Zaheer Khan a distant second now with 311 wickets. The 37-year-old is also the fifth Indian overall to have taken 350 wickets, joining the likes of Anil Kumble (619), Ravichandran Ashwin (537), Kapil Dev (434) and Harbhajan Singh (417).

Jadeja is also the third left-arm spinner in the world to have achieved the milestone, joining the likes of Rangana Herath (433) and Daniel Vettori (362). In the process, he also achieved another significant record.

Jadeja is now only the fourth player in the history of Test cricket to have a double of 4000-plus Test runs and 350-plus Test wickets. Only Kapil Dev (5248, 434), Ian Botham (5200, 383) and Daniel Vettori (4531, 362) have achieved the milestone before him.

India managed to put Sri Lanka’s resistance to a halt in the third session after the hosts put up a brilliant fight in the latter half of the first and the entirety of the second session. Returning to the Test side after three years, Niroshan Dickwella scored a strong 80, while youngster Sonal Dinusha made 89 as they forged a partnership of 146 for the sixth wicket.

The hosts were reeling at 90/5 before the two stepped up and put up a fight. They took the team to 236/5 before Prasidh Krishna got the veteran Dickwella. Soon after, Jadeja came and removed Nuwantha for his milestone wicket. India had made 462 in the first innings with Devdutt Padikkal leading the way with his 167, while KL Rahul (82) and Dhruv Jurel (51) also made strong contributions on Day 2.