Indian bowler Ravindra Jadeja, center, celebrates with team members after dismissing South Africa's Dane Piedt during the second day of the first cricket test match against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, India
With his dismissal of Dean Elgar on the third evening of the ongoing opening Test match against South Africa in Visakhapatnam, Ravindra Jadeja became the fastest left-arm bowler to amass 200 Test wickets and the second-fastest Indian to the mark after teammate R Ashwin. Elgar misread the length as the ball took the top of the toe edge of the willow before Chesteshwar Pujara completed the dismissal with a tumbling catch.
Jadeja required two wickets to reach the milestone. While he dismissed nightwatchman Dane Piedt on Thursday evening, his second wicket came two sessions later when he got the better of Elgar for 160. With the second wicket, Jadeja scripted two records. Having achieved his 200th in the format in his 44th match, Jadeja surpassed veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to become the second-fastest India to the mark after Ashwin who had reached the mark in his 36th Test. Meanwhile, he also went past Sri Lankan spin wizard Rangana Herath to become the fastest left-arm bowler to pick his 200th Test wicket. Elgar walked back 18 runs short of his short of the highest score by a visiting batsman in India since the beginning of this dominant run that began back in 2013.
Earlier in the day, after the quick departure of Temba Bavuma by Ishant Sharma, Elgar and skipper Faf du Plessis showed positive intent against the spin combination of Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja to script an impressive 100-plus partnership, South Africa's first since their last tour. Following the dismissal of Faf by Ashwin, Elgar combined with wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock to stitch a stunning 164-run stand following which the latter completed his maiden Test hundred on Indian soil en route to his score of 111.
