"You could almost play him like a seamer" - Shaun Pollock's stunning take on Team India spinner after Day 2 of IND vs SA 2025 1st Test

Former South African captain Shaun Pollock believes star Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja became unplayable in the second innings of the opening Test at Kolkata. Pollock attributed the difference in the challenge of facing Jadeja between the first and second innings to the change in the surface.

After bowling eight wicketless overs in South Africa's first innings, the 36-year-old wreaked havoc in the second, with figures of 4/29 in 13 overs. Jadeja's heroics helped India reduce the Proteas to 93/7 in their second innings after leading by 30 runs at the end of the first innings.

Talking about Jadeja's bowling display after play on the second day, Pollock said on Cricbuzz (10:38):

"When he bowled in the first innings, you could almost play him like a seamer. He was coming on at the pace where you could hit through the line and he wasn't dangerous. But give him a surface that stops and he can fire those darts in and if it's stopping and standing up, he's unplayable."

The South African legend also hailed Jadeja's usage of the bowling crease, saying:

"The way he played with the crease too was impressive. He does it brilliantly as a spinner. You often see spinners that get into a stock standard delivery spot and operate all day. But not him."

Bowling aside, Jadeja also contributed with the bat, scoring a valuable 27 to help India cross South Africa's first innings total.

"It's longevity and being able to show form the whole way" - Shaun Pollock

Shaun Pollock hailed Ravindra Jadeja for becoming only the fourth player in Test history to reach 4,000 runs and 300 wickets. The veteran all-rounder joined Kapil Dev, Daniel Vettori, and Ian Botham as the only cricketers to achieve the rare double.

"It's tough to achieve but for him, it's probably been a little bit easier, when he's been playing in India. But also he doesn't play that big a part when playing away from India with the ball. But it's longevity and being able to show form the whole way through. His batting has gone from strength to strength. When he first came on, he was kind of a contributor. But now you can rely on him for consistency," said Pollock (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded:

"And with the ball, he has gathered experience. He was maybe a bit impatient when he first started to bowl. But to achieve these records, you've to be able to learn the art of patience, longevity and look after your body. He has to get credit for what he has done."

Jadeja boasts incredible Test batting and bowling averages of 38.62 and 25.04, respectively, in 88 games.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran