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India's bowling coach, Morne Morkel, had special praise in store for star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after his landmark moment in Test cricket in Kanpur on Monday.
Jadeja's quest for his 300th Test wicket came to its conclusion after he outwitted Bangladesh tail-ender Khaled Ahmed to achieve the historic feat. After officially becoming a member of the 300 Test wickets club, Jadeja is now one of 11 players with the double of scoring 3000-plus runs and 300-plus scalps in Test cricket. He became the second quickest to achieve the feat in terms of matches, behind England's Ian Botham (72). Morkel didn't hold back his tongue when he was quizzed about his views on Jadeja scripting another accolade to his name. "For me, he is a complete package. He bats, he bowls, he is a guy in the field who can make magic happen. He is an X-Factor player. He is a guy you always want in your team, and he has done that for so many years for India. Yeah, to join the 300 Test wickets club is a special club. He has put in performances for India, and he is a guy that works on his game. That is what you want to see. So happy for him to reach that milestone," Morkel said in the post-day press conference. In a rain-curtailed Test clash, where two days were lost, day four carried enough entertainment to keep the fans glued to the screens and spectators at the edge of their seats. In 85 overs that were bowled in the entire day, a total of 437 runs were scored, and 18 wickets were scythed, summing up the enticing play that was on offer on a mostly sunny day in Kanpur. India became the quickest team to hit the 50, 100, and 200-run mark in a Test inning. Skipper Rohit Sharma took the mantle and laid out the way India was going to approach for their first inning. "That was our message this morning [to go for a win]. With losing two days of the Test, how do we start this morning? To show that positive intent was going to be key. Two days left in the Test match, extended sessions, there's still a lot of cricket, lot of time left in the game," Morkel said. In the first three overs, India was scoring at a whopping 14-plus run rate. Even though wickets kept falling one after another, India still enjoyed runs on the board at a sublime run rate of 8.22. "The ways the boys went with the ball up front was incredible to see. To show that intent with the bat was awesome. I don't think, as a bowling unit, they expected that to happen. But, it was always part of our game plan," the former South Africa pacer added. The eventful day ended with Bangladesh posting 26/2 on the board and still trailing by 26 runs. (ANI)
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