Ravindra Jadeja basks in joy after 'special' 300 Test wickets: Proud of myself

IND vs BAN: Ravindra Jadeja said that that he was proud of himself after he reached the landmark of 300 Test wickets in the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh. Jadeja said that the hard work he has put over the years have paid dividends.

In Short

• Ravindra Jadeja became the seventh Indian with 300 Test wickets
• Jadeja dismissed Khaled Ahmed to reach the landmark
• Jadeja also said that he’s confident for India winning the Kanpur Test

Ravindra Jadeja was delighted after he reached the landmark of 300 wickets in Test cricket. The seasoned campaigner also joined an elite list of Indian cricketers – Anil Kumble, Ravi Ashwin, Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan – to achieve the feat. Jadeja got to the milestone in the second Test against Bangladesh at the Green Park in Kanpur.

After waiting for three and a half days due to rain halting play, he dismissed Khaled Ahmed for his 300th wicket in the purest format. With India scheduled to host New Zealand in October, Jadeja can climb up to become the fifth-highest Test wicket-taker, going past Zaheer and Ishant, who both have 311 wickets to their name.

"It's special when you achieve something for India. I've been playing Tests for 10 years now and finally I've reached this milestone. I've done well and I'm proud of myself. Feeling happy and good, it's special and will forever remain with me,” Jadeja said after the end of the day’s play.

‘I worked hard with the red ball’

Jadeja said that after being deemed as a white-ball cricketer, he put in the hard yards to make himself a brute force across all three formats. Having already retired from T20Is following the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA, Jadeja remains a crucial member of the ODI and Test team.

“As a youngster I started with white-ball cricket and everyone used to tell me I was a white-ball cricketer. But I worked hard with the red ball and finally all the hardwork has paid off. As a batter I always try to give myself some time, I react to the ball and score accordingly.”

At Stumps on the penultimate day, Bangladesh were trailing by 26 runs with eight wickets in hand. Jadeja said that India are hopeful of bundling their opponent out cheaply and chase the target down.

“Now it's time to take the eight wickets and chase the target, hopefully it won't be a big total," Jadeja added.

In the first Test at the Chepauk, Jadeja delivered with the bat, building a match-winning partnership with Ashwin was Hasan Mahmud ran through the Indian top order.