Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja have one thing in common besides hailing from Saurashtra and being key members of the Indian Test team under Virat Kohli this home season.
In the 11 Tests so far since New Zealand came calling last September, the two have given their all in the home team's immensely successful run against four nations. Yet, Pujara and Jadeja tried to stake their claim as India's No. 1 batsman and bowler, respectively, but have somehow fallen short to Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Pujara has been India's No. 2 batsman behind Kohli at 1,057 runs at an average of 58.72 with three hundreds and seven fifties. The Indian skipper's corresponding figures being 1,246 at 69.22 in the same number of Tests.
Among bowlers, Jadeja's 58 wickets with three five-wicket hauls is second to Ashwin's 76. The two have repeatedly struck to demolish the opposition in conditions that suited their bowling against oppositions that came from different continents except for Bangladesh in the lone Test last month in Hyderabad.
The consistency with which Pujara has scored, especially when the conditions were tough like in the second innings of the last Test in Bengaluru has been remarkable. Yet, he continues to be under-rated and has not got his due that he so richly deserves. What matters most is the recognition and acknowledgement that he gets from his team-mates and support staff. The India No. 3 batsman could not have asked for a better compliment than what his skipper Kohli gave after the Bengaluru Test win when he said Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are India's best Test batsmen.
Pujara may have missed out on man of the match performance to opener KL Rahul in Bengaluru but his 92 in the second innings on a turning track was worth at least a double century. He was, to most of the Indians, the man of the match. If not for Pujara's 92 and the crucial 118-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ajinkya Rahane, with the two occupying the crease and not merely folding up to the Aussie spinners, India would have been down 0-2.
But, Pujara has always risen his game whenever the chips were down.
What Pujara is to India with the bat, Jadeja is with the red ball in hand. When you think Ashwin will walk away with wickets on helpful conditions, the left-arm spinner has lifted his game and outperformed his highly-accomplished teammate from Tamil Nadu.
Ashwin's 269 wickets in 47 Tests at 24.79 may dwarf Jadeja's 129 sticks in 28 games. But, in the 22 Tests that the two have played together, there is little to choose from between them. Jadeja has picked up 112 wickets at 19.91 with six five-wicket bags as against Ashwin's 142 at 21.17 with 15 five-wicket hauls.
Ashwin's variation helps him get more five-wicket figures than Jadeja, who relies on his accuracy and straighter ones. On turning tracks, Jadeja is a terror that no batsman likes to face.
A meeting in Rajkot between Jadeja and his former Saurashtra team-mate and then coach Sitanshu Kotak on Sunday, a day prior to joining the Indian team in Ranchi for the third Test against Australia, showed how confident the all-rounder was in finishing off the series in India's favour in the remaining two Tests, having drawn level from 0-1 down in what will go down as one of India's greatest Test victories in Bengaluru last week.
Many may have felt that Jadeja was under-bowled in Bengaluru. But it was Ashwin, who finished it off with his 25th five-wicket purchase in the second innings to trigger a sensational victory.
Kotak has always believed that Jadeja is India's best left-arm spinner on turning tracks "because of his straighter one, trajectory and consistency". Kotak said: "He does not bowl a single loose ball. If the wicket is doing enough, why would you want to try anything extra? If you bowl on the areas, with pitch giving assistance, wickets will come. That's what Jadeja does. Some deliveries will jump, some will go straight, and some others will turn. You have to bowl consistent line and length with a little bit of pace variation. Length is important on turning tracks."
That's what Jadeja did in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test to finish with 6/63 when Ashwin was coming to terms with 2/84. That's what Jadeja did in Chennai against England for his only 10-wicket haul in Tests when Ashwin ended up with one for a plenty of runs.
Kotak believed that Pujara's concentration and application are second to none. "The way Pujara bats, he likes to stay on the wicket for a long time, survives tough moments and scores runs are great traits to have. For Pujara, who likes to occupy the crease, it is even more difficult as you have two or three fielders surrounding you. Pujara's focus, concentration, self-belief, and ability to survive come to the fore. The team cannot have seven aggressive batsmen. You need people who can play around him. You want someone to occupy the crease. You need partnerships on any wicket to tire out batsmen. That's what Pujara brings to the board. After Kohli, for the team to rely on Pujara is a tribute to his batsmanship," Kotak said.
Kotak is proud as every other Saurashtrian that two from their region are key members in the current Test team. "The two are of different characters, very strong in temperament. You need such types of temperament to handle pressure at Test level. They are strong and believe in themselves and have proved again and again that the team needs their skills to win matches," Kotak said.
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1,057
No. of runs Pujara has scored in 11 Tests this home season so far. Only Virat Kohli at 1,246 has bettered him.
58
No. of wickets Jadeja has taken in 11 Tests this home season so far, behind Ravichandran Ashwin's 76 in the same number of matches.
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