Ajay Jadeja 96 off 212 balls 253 Mins 7 Fours 2 Sixes vs West Indies at St Johns 4th Test Match in April 1997 (Highest Test Score)

Mr. Devotor

Relive Ajay Jadeja’s finest Test innings at St John’s in April 1997. Opening the batting for India, Jadeja crafted a patient and elegant 96 runs in 212 balls, including 7 boundaries and 2 majestic sixes. Unfortunately, as he neared his maiden Test century, a misjudged second run left him stranded just 4 runs short of a landmark. Despite rain spoiling the match and ensuring a draw, Jadeja’s innings remains etched in cricketing memory.  📌 Watch this classic knock and the story of how Ajay Jadeja came agonisingly close to his first Test hundred.  Hashtags #AjayJadeja #CricketClassics #IndiaVsWestIndies #TestCricket #Antigua1997 #CricketHistory #NearCentury

Transcript

00:00In the fourth test at St. John's in April 1997, Ajay Dajeja produced one of his finest

00:06efforts in the longer format, compiling a stylish 96 runs from 212 deliveries across

00:12253 minutes of determined batting.

00:16Opening the innings for India, Ajay Dajeja displayed admirable patience and composure,

00:21striking seven crisp boundaries and at twice lifting the ball for soaring sixes.

00:26Yet the contest itself was robbed of any real consequence.

00:31Relentless Reign and the Antiguan Ground Authority struggled to deal with the saturated, overworked

00:37out field meant that the first three days were washed away, leaving little more than a

00:42token draw.

00:43The West Indies, by virtue of their earlier efforts, claimed the five-month series 1-0.

00:48Boulosa, they seem to be keeping to this policy.

00:52Neat little leg glance, and into the ropes, for a boundary.

00:59Put that away for four, didn't quite control it all that well but still got enough bat to

01:12get a boundary.

01:13So Ratchmoor moves on by four.

01:16So he's batting for his future, that's a bit more like the Ajay Dajeja that I know.

01:23A lovely easy little swat over mid-wicket, it's 77 for no wicket.

01:30There goes Ajay Dajeja, and that is a mighty blow, and it's six.

01:40He's a very...

01:41Not a great deal of turnout there for Kyle Hooper, and just playing through the line.

01:47Piking it over long on.

01:49They say it's a malarial flu.

01:53In the air, good stroke, two and fifty.

01:56For Ajay Dajeja, another good thump.

01:59He's not the most elegant player, but he's pretty efficient when he's looking to hit the

02:03ball over the top.

02:04And he goes to a fifty, barely acknowledged by the locals here.

02:10It's come with four boundaries.

02:12Oh, this is a big hit.

02:16He will not go all the way, one bounce and into the fence.

02:23No signal coming from umpire Steve Buckner yet.

02:30He's given that something.

02:33And what a way to go to your best score in test match cricket.

02:37Ajay Dajeja has given it a clean old-fashioned hit over mid-wicket for six.

02:43Oh, he's a very good hitter of the ball, Ajay Dajeja.

02:48And this is a small ground.

02:49He's not going to be deterred by that feeler had long gone.

02:52And look, he's hit the ball almost out of the ground.

02:56He knows this is an opportunity to get close to that hundred.

03:02He's got a single, he gets down to third man.

03:08He wants two and he's got two, has he?

03:10That's very tired indeed.

03:12He might just have cut his own throat there.

03:15Stuart Williams with a brilliant throw from the third man boundary.

03:19And what an irony this would be.

03:21Oh, I think he's gone.

03:30You wouldn't believe it, would you?

03:32I think he's gone.

03:34Now he's gone.

03:36For Ajay Dajeja, however, the test held personal significance.

03:57Playing his first match of the series, he took advantage of the relaxed atmosphere to construct

04:03what would remain of his highest score in test cricket.

04:06But as the three-figure milestone loomed, anxiety seemed to cloud his judgement.

04:11On 96, he chanced a risky second run to third man.

04:15An alert return from Stuart Williams found wicketkeeper Courtney Brown waiting and Ajay Dajeja

04:20was left ignominiously short of his century, just for a run adrift of a landmark that eluded

04:27him.

04:28Ajay Dajeja, 96 at St. John's remains a bittersweet memory in Indian cricket folklore.

04:33It was an inning of elegance, patience, and flair, played under the shadow of wasted days,

04:39and a washed-out contest.

04:41Although denied a century, Ajay Dajeja stood as a reminder of his ability to adapt to the

04:47regress of test cricket and to the rise to the opinions when given the opportunity.

04:52It may not have altered the course of the series, but it carved for him a quiet place in the

04:58annals of Indian batting.

05:04Thank you very much.

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