India v England: The great executioner puts England to the sword - Chris Waters

Jadeja might have made for a fine executioner in 17th-century Europe, where swords were often the favoured means of dispatching the condemned, before falling out of favour in the early 18th-century.

With bat in hand, Jadeja might as well be brandishing the old executioner’s sword; in his charge, that bat becomes the deadliest of weapons – one of calm and collected menace, particularly when a situation demands a steady hand.

That famous sword celebration – guaranteed to send a partisan crowd wild – came out not once but twice on the first day in Rajkot, where India took a firm grip on the formative exchanges of the third Test, the five-match series locked at 1-1.

At 33-3 after the hosts opted to bat, that grip belonged instead to England, one that would have strengthened further had Joe Root not dropped Rohit Sharma low to his left at slip off Tom Hartley, which would have left the total 47-4.

It wasn’t the easiest chance but, as they say, it was one that should have been taken at the highest level; already it has the air of a match-defining moment.

As it was, first Sharma and then Jadeja, back after missing the second Test with a hamstring injury, went to three figures, India closing on 326-5, the first hour, as ever, pivotal on the morrow.

Promoted to No 5 at his home ground, amid an inexperienced and callow-looking line-up, a ground where he already had a Test hundred to his name and a first-class triple-century, Jadeja was magnificent, batting in his usual unhurried style.

The only real blot on his copybook was the run-out of debutant Sarfaraz Khan towards day’s end, Jadeja’s initial call for a single to mid-on in search of his 100th run sensibly withdrawn - but not before Khan had been sold down the river to be undone by a splendid piece of work by Mark Wood, who took shy at the one stump he could see and sent it hurtling through the air.

As Khan trudged off, television cameras caught Sharma, the captain, hurling his cap to the floor in disgust in the dressing room, the young man’s 62 from 66 balls building in the most attractive fashion on Sharma’s own contribution of 131, which ended when he spooned a Wood short ball to mid-wicket.

Sharma was soon applauding, however, when Jadeja flicked James Anderson for a single to deep backward square one ball after the run-out mess, the left-hander’s fourth Test hundred also snapping the crowd back from despair to delight in the blink of an eye.

Not that Jadeja, to judge by his reaction, saw things quite that way.

Indeed, his second sword celebration - the first unveiled after reaching his half-century from 97 deliveries - was somewhat more subdued after his century arrived from 198 balls.

Jadeja seemed almost to hesitate before unveiling it at all, after what had just happened to poor old Khan.

Shall I? Shan’t I? Oh, go on then…

Anderson, sensing a chance to get inside the head of a man with whom he has previous, seemed to query the optic and timing of this sword twirl, which he then appeared to mimic before exchanging a few words with Jadeja, ones unlikely to have been “Well batted, rockstar”, as Shane Warne used to call him.

Jadeja was too downcast to get involved in any unnecessary back-and-forth; indeed, for the rest of a day which he finished on 110 not out, he could barely have looked more crestfallen had he mislaid his log-in details for The Yorkshire Post app.

Khan, too, struck a picture of melancholy back in the dressing room, the chance of a debut century cruelly snatched away.

So well - and so nervelessly - did Khan play during an innings that contained nine fours and a six that it seemed he might even beat Jadeja to the three-figure mark.

Jadeja had 84 when Sarfaraz walked out, their stand of 77 so dominated by the latter that it was the equivalent of looking at Manchester City’s average possession statistics.

The biggest stand of the day was the 204 shared by Rohit and Jadeja, which rescued India after Wood had Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill nicking off inside the first six overs.

When Rajat Patidar followed with a horrible ballooned catch to cover off Hartley, England were on a roll, sensing a great opportunity to get stuck into a potentially vulnerable line-up.

But on day when a couple of non-reviews for lbw would have gone their way had they sent them upstairs (Sharma on 87 off Rehan Ahmed, and Jadeja on 93 off Hartley) not much went right thereafter as the swordsman and his colleagues held sway.