Rohit Sharma led the Indian cricket team to a historic 434-run win against England in the third Test match in Rajkot on Sunday, February 18. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja emerged as top performers as England’s second innings stumbled on 122 while chasing a 557-run target on Day 4.
Jaiswal dominated the first two sessions by smashing his second double hundred and third Test century and then Jadeja bowled a match-winning spell after tea by taking five wickets. Jadeja claimed the Player of the Match award for his first innings century and seven wickets in the match.
Jadeja completed 200 Test wickets at home on Day 3 and now set another huge milestone on Sunday. The veteran spinner equalled Anil Kumble in the record for most Player of the Match awards in Tests in India with his ninth award in the Rajkot Test.
The 35-year-old spin all-rounder has bagged 10 Player of the Match awards in his Test career and nine of those came on Indian soil. Jadeja now has taken 206 wickets in 42 Test matches played in India winning the Player of the Match award for record nine times.
Kumble also recorded nine of his 10 Player of the Match awards in Tests on Indian soil. Legendary batters Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have recorded eight Player of the Match awards in Tests in India while Ravichandran Ashwin has six in 58 Test matches.
Most Player of the Match awards winners in Tests in India:
- Ravindra Jadeja – 9 in 42 Tests
- Anil Kumble – 9 in 63 Tests
- Virat Kohli – 8 in 50 Tests
- Sachin Tendulkar – 8 in 94 Tests
- Javagal Srinath – 6 in 32 Tests
- Ravichandran Ashwin – 6 in 58 Tests
- Harbhajan Singh – 6 in 55 Tests
Jadeja, Kohli and Kumbale have claimed ten Player of the Match awards each in Tests and are only behind Rahul Dravid (11) and Sachin Tendulkar (14).