India’s 22 -run loss for England in the third Test at Lord’s has raised eyebrows, and Sunil Gavaskar expressed concern over the team’s inability to form a strong partnership, especially ravindra Jadeja. Former Indian captain Ravindra Jadeja was important for the slow innings.
The legendary batsman believes that a stable partnership of 60–70 runs may change the course of the match, but failed to distribute India when the highest, and England took an opportunity to take a 2–1 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series.
Sunil Gavaskar knocked Ravindra Jadeja’s defensive knock after India’s defeat at Lord’s
This was Ravindra Jadeja’s slow innings that raised Gavaskar. The Indian all-rounder tried his best to pull a miracle after the initial collapse on the day 5, triggered by Ben Stokes and Joffra Archer. He remained unbeaten on 61 off 181 balls – his fastest Test Fifty – but he had no support from the other end, and the touring side was eventually excluded for 170, while chasing 193 runs at Lord’s.
cricketballgame.com
ALSO READ: Jasprit Bumrah ‘Forced’ to play the last 2 tests of Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, workload management ignored
Jadeja’s ultra-defensive approach provoked the debate, Sunil Gavaskar questioned whether he could take more calculated risks in the innings; Especially against spinners, the result may be different in the third test against England in Lord’s.
Sunil Gavaskar said on Sony Sports, “The 60-70 partnership must have made a difference. India never got it. You can say that Jadeja may have taken an odd opportunity and not necessarily when Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir were bowling, he (Jadeja).”
Ravindra Jadeja takes a chance against Shoaib Bashir: Sunil Gavaskar
Later, speaking to Sports Tak, Gavaskar reported that Ravindra Jadeja missed the possibility of India’s scoring during India’s stressful chass at Lord’s. He felt that Jadeja could go for a border or a large shot when Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root were bowling to pressurize England.
Gavaskar was quoted by Sports Tak saying: “I thought when Bashir came to bowl, Jadeja could take a chance. The second time when Bumrah was batting with him, because Stokes was landing in the field inside the circle on mid-off. So, especially when the root was bowling.
Also read: James Anderson officially joined the team ahead of India. England Manchester Test
Ravindra Jadeja Scripts History in Lords
Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja scripted history at Lord’s, becoming the second Indian batsman to score 50+ in both innings of a test at the prestigious site in London. He scored 72 runs in the first innings and 61 not out in Lord’s in the second. Prior to Jadeja, Vinu Mankad made history in 1952.
India’s heart -wrenching disadvantage to England at Lord’s has joined the list of his most narrow defeat by runs in Test history in the third Test with only 22 runs. His nearest defeat was in 1999, when Pakistan scored just 12 runs in Chennai. In 1977, Australia crushed India by 16 runs in Brisbane.
Then, Pakistan again defeated India 16 runs in Bengaluru in 1987. Recently, India decreased by 25 runs against New Zealand in Wankhede in 2024. Prabhu’s defeat is now in the form of the fourth most hesitation in Indian testing history.
