“Jadeja owns Steve Smith” – Fans react as Steve Smith gets out to Ravindra Jadeja for the eighth time in Tests during WTC 2023 final

Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Australia's Steve Smith on Day 3 of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final on Friday, June 9. The left-arm spinner dismissed the middle-order batter for the eighth time in Test cricket.

The incident took place in the 31st over of Australia’s second innings. Smith danced down the track and tried to slog it over mid-on. The right-handed batter, though, missed it altogether and Shardul Thakur ran to his right from point to complete the catch.

With the dismissal, Jadeja also ended Smith’s fifty partnership with Marnus Labuschagne and reduced Australia to 86/3.

Smith, who smashed 121 in the first innings of the all-important final, departed for 34 in the second.

Fans on Twitter hailed Ravindra Jadeja for dismissing dangerous-looking Steve Smith to bring back India into the contest. One tweeted:

Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:

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Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne recover Australia from 24/2

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne recovered Australia after they were reduced to 24/2. The duo shared a 62-run partnership for the third wicket. This came after openers David Warner (1) and Usman Khawaja (13) departed cheaply.

At the time of writing, Australia were 120/4 after 41 overs with Labuschagne (39) and Cameron Green (6) at the crease. Travis Head, who smashed 161 in the first innings, also departed for 18, caught and bowled by Jadeja.

Earlier on Day 3, India were bundled out for 296 in 69.4 overs, trailing by 173 runs in their first innings. Ajinkya Rahane starred with the bat, scoring 89. The senior batter also became the only 13th batter from Team India to complete 5,000 runs in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja contributed 51 and 48, respectively. Thakur, in particular, smashed his third consecutive fifty at the Kennington Oval.

For Australia, captain Pat Cummins scalped three wickets, while Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and Cameron Green took two apiece. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon dismissed Jadeja (48).

Batting first, Australia posted 469, courtesy of Travis Head (163) and Steve Smith (121). The duo also become the first two centurions in the ICC event.

Mohammed Siraj bagged four wickets, while Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur picked two each. Jadeja also settled for one wicket.

Click here to follow the WTC 2023 final scores.