Before the first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali, the Indian cricket fans had only one name on their lips – former India skipper Virat Kohli, and rightly so. After all, it was going to be his 100th Test appearance, a feat that had not only been achieved by only 11 Indian cricketers before him.

#TeamIndia Head Coach Rahul Dravid presents @imVkohli with his 100th baggy blue to commemorate his 100th appearance in whites.#VK100 | #INDvSL | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/PVFhsbe4Rj

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 4, 2022

However, after the match, Kohli's name was replaced by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was playing his first Test match in over three months. On his return to the game’s longest formar, the Saurashtra all-rounder single-handedly outclassed the visitors – first with the willow and then with the ball.

'Rockstar' @imjadeja @Paytm #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/JG25othE56

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2022

The 33-year-old southpaw first blasted an unbeaten 175 – his highest Test score that propelled India to a mammoth first innings total, and then gave nine Sri Lankan batters the marching orders across two innings.

Watching him in action, it never felt like he was playing his first red-ball game since November. The ease with which he decimated the Sri Lankan bowlers, spin or pace, made one feel as if he was never away.

He was, without any doubt, India’s best performer with both bat and ball and deserved to win the player of the match award.

Jadeja reaches the summit
Kohli, Pant move up

Some big movements in the latest update to the @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's Test Player rankings

Details https://t.co/BjiD5Avxhk pic.twitter.com/U4dfnrmLmE

— ICC (@ICC) March 9, 2022

Not just that, his incredible all-round display has also helped him scale the ICC Test All-Rounders’ chart. The left-arm orthdox spinner now has 406 ratings points and he pushed the former West Indies captain Jason Holder and fellow teammate Ravichandran Ashwin to the second and third positions, respectively.

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As soon as the International Cricket Council (ICC) released the latest rankings on its social media channels, the Team India supporters flooded their posts with their comments.

King gets his crown back

— Sagar (@Sagarc29) March 9, 2022

Ravindra Jadeja replaced everyone by a single match

— Diwakar¹⁸ (@diwakarkumar47) March 9, 2022

Well deserved place for Rockstar Ravindra Jadeja pic.twitter.com/5rraqrf1MU

— Rohishabh Fangirl (@Im_RishRo1745) March 9, 2022

Greatest all rounder in current generation

— 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐚𝐬𝐌𝐒𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐧™ (@itzShreyas07) March 9, 2022

Rockstar Sir Ravindra Jadeja Fire Hai.

— Vicky Shinde (@iamshinde83) March 9, 2022

Jadeja had suffered a right forearm injury during the Kanpur Test against New Zealand last year which made him miss the all-important tour of the Rainbow Nation. He returned to action only a few weeks back in the three-match T20I series against the Lankan Lions and has been terrific since then.

After playing a key role in India’s 3-0 clean sweep over Sri Lanka, the southpaw continued his impressive form in the traditional format as well and produced a performance that would surely go down in our memory lane.

150 for @imjadeja and he brings this up in style with a maximum

Live - https://t.co/XaUgOQVg3O #INDvSL @Paytm pic.twitter.com/TMrfFi2YZ5

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2022

While he has always impressed with the ball, it was heartening to see him delivering with the bat in the last one week. We hope he keeps excelling like this in both the departments. Fingers crossed!

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