India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the standout performer in the first innings of the opening Test against Australia. The left-armer finished with impressive figures of 5/47 in his comeback game. He was out of action since August 2022 due to a knee injury and recently played a Ranji Trophy match to prove his fitness.
Jadeja was too good for the Australian batters, as they were bundled out for just 177 after opting to bat first.
In the meantime, an Aussie fan has shared a video on Twitter claiming that Jadeja applied a substance on his spinning finger to get a better grip on the ball and even tagged former Australian captain Tim Paine.
“What do you think of this @tdpaine36 Looks like one player giving grippo to the bowler and him rubbing it all over his spinning finger to me. Thoughts?,” wrote the Australian team supporter.
In the video, Jadeja can be seen taking something from Mohammed Siraj’s hand and applying it to his left index finger. The camera then displayed the 34-year-old seemingly rubbing it on his bowling finger while discussing something with captain Rohit Sharma.
Reacting to the footage, Paine gave a cryptic one-word reply, “Interesting.”
Interesting
— Tim Paine (@tdpaine36) February 9, 2023
Team 36 in action #bgt
one player giving grippo to the bowler and him rubbing it all over his spinning finger to me. Thoughts?#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/yLywbT5ucs— Shaun Tait 🇦🇺 (@shauntaitaussie) February 9, 2023
Fox Cricket, a leading Australian media outlet, has termed the incident ‘questionable’.
As per a report in the Indian Express, the home team has responded to the allegations saying Siraj had passed an ointment to Jadeja to apply on his fingers as they tend to get sore while bowling constant overs.
In case of Jadeja, he bowled 22 overs in total and bagged his 11th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The Jamnagar-born mixed his stock ball, turning away from the right-hander and odd one, going straight to dismiss the likes of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith on his way to picking a fifer, inspiring a post-lunch session collapse of Australia.
