Manjrekar lauds 'favourite cricketer' Ravindra Jadeja after 14th 5-wicket haul

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Ravindra Jadeja for his brilliant performance in the first innings of the Mumbai Test match. Jadeja clinched his 14th 5-wicket-haul and helped India bowl out New Zealand for 235 runs.

In Short

• Ravindra Jadeja starred for India on Day 1 of Mumbai Test
• Jadeja picked up his 14th 5-wicket-haul in Tests
• Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Ravindra Jadeja

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja earned high praise from Sanjay Manjrekar on Day 1 of the Mumbai Test match. Jadeja, who picked up his 14th 5-wicket-haul in Test cricket, helped India bowl out New Zealand for 235 runs in the first innings of the match.

Former India cricketer, who is known for his love-hate relationship with Jadeja, having previously called him a bits-and-pieces cricketer, took to Twitter to praise the all-rounder. Manjrekar said that he was over the moon with the performance of the bowler which helped India control the damage on Friday.

"Over the moon for my favourite cricketer, Jadeja. A fifer! He needed that! And so did the team," Sanjay Manjrekar said on Twitter.

India capitalised on the Mumbai heat and challenging pitch conditions to trouble New Zealand’s batters. Washington Sundar provided early breakthroughs, dismissing Tom Latham and Rachin Ravindra before Lunch. Jadeja then struck just before Tea, removing Young and Blundell in quick succession on a surface that had begun to offer puffs of dust and sharp turn. Despite these conditions, New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell held firm, battling both the spin and the oppressive 37-degree temperatures.

IND vs NZ, 3rd Test: Day 1 Live Updates | Full Scorecard

Ravindra Jadeja went past Ishant Sharma to become the fifth-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket during Day 1 of the Mumbai Test. Jadeja surpassed both Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, who held 311 wickets each, to reach this position with a tally of 312 wickets. The record-breaking wicket came in style as Jadeja dismissed Glenn Phillips with a well-executed delivery that darted in with the arm, leaving the batter completely beaten. He had earlier removed Tom Blundell and Will Young, displaying his versatility on a pitch offering variable turn.

With 312 wickets, Jadeja now stands just behind Harbhajan Singh, who claimed 417 wickets across 103 Tests. His achievement marks an impressive chapter in his decade-long Test career, during which he has consistently played a dual role for India as both a bowler and a batsman. Earlier in this series, he also became only the third Indian player to reach a double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets, a feat previously achieved by Kapil Dev and Ravichandran Ashwin. Notably, Jadeja is the second-fastest to achieve this milestone after England’s Ian Botham.