Will Young reveals how he countered Ravindra Jadeja’s threat during Test series

Will Young stepped in for the injured Kane Williamson and put on a stunning show with the bat to help New Zealand beat India 3-0 in the recently concluded three-match Test series. The Kiwis became the first team to beat the Asian giants in a Test series on Indian soil in 12 years.

The right-handed batter got starts in each innings of the first two Tests but failed to convert them into substantial scores. However, in the final Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Young batted brilliantly against the experienced Indian spinners on a rank turner and smashed half-centuries in both innings. The 31-year-old was chosen as the Player of the Series for his consistent contributions across the three games.

One of the highlights of Young’s batting was the way he negated India’s spinners, especially Ravindra Jadeja. The Saurashtra all-rounder can run through batting line-ups in spin-friendly conditions and he did so in Mumbai, bagging five-fers in both innings. However, Young didn’t flinch against the left-arm spinner. The New Plymouth-born recently revealed his game plan against Jadeja.

“It was just this one particular passage of play [in Mumbai] where Jadeja had brought mid-off up. For most of the series, he’d had him back because he was quite comfortable for the right-handers to try to push the ball into the offside and bring the slips into play. But this particular passage of play, Jadeja and Rohit had decided to bring mid-off up,” Young was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“And I just felt that if the ball was full enough, I could try to reach it and smother the spin and get it over the top straight. And I had a chat to Daryl Mitchell about it in between overs and he said, ‘Yeah, mate, just back yourself’. He said to make sure you stay down through the shot or something along those lines. He’s very good at it [hitting down the ground] himself. So when the opportunity arose, I took it, and then the fielder went back and I could keep on playing from there,” he added.

Will Young’s Test career in numbers

Young has been a part of New Zealand’s Test setup for a very long time but has only played 19 matches since his debut in December 2020. He has mostly got his opportunities in the playing XI in the absence of Williamson.

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In the 19 Tests, Young has scored 961 runs at an average of 30.03. He has scored nine half-centuries, including a highest score of 89 against India in Kanpur in 2021. After his stellar performance against India, it will be interesting to see how New Zealand fit him into the playing XI when Williamson is available for selection.

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