Ravindra Jadeja’s valiant unbeaten 61 went in vain as India lost the Lord’s Test to England by 22 runs. Sanjay Manjrekar criticised him for lacking intent, praising Bumrah’s gritty support. India now trail 1-2 ahead of the Manchester Test on July 23.
Team India star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja displayed his valiance and resilience to rescue the visitors from the jaws of defeat in the recently concluded third Test against England at Lord’s in London on Sunday, July 14. However, Jadeja’s efforts did not pay off as India suffered a heartbreaking 22-run defeat against the Ben Stokes-led side.
Chasing a 193-run target, India suffered a batting collapse in a big way as they were bundled out for 170 in 74.5 overs. At the end of Day 4. India were already staring at a defeat after the visitors posted a total of 58/4 in 17.4 overs, with KL Rahul batting on 33. On the final and tense day, Team India was hit by another batting collapse, resulting in falling 23 runs short of achieving the target.
However, the fighting spirit of Ravindra Jadeja stood out as he held firm on one end with his composed and valiant unbeaten innings of 61 off 181 balls, keeping India’s hope of chasing down the target.
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Jadeja’s Valiance Failed To Pay off
Ravindra Jadeja’s gritty innings frustrated the England bowlers, who were looking to dismiss the all-rounder as his stay at the crease was posing a threat to the hosts. After India toppled to 112/8 after Nitish Kumar Reddy’s wicket, Jadeja was the last bastion of hope for the visitors.
Jadeja stitched a valiant 35-run stand for the ninth wicket with Jasprit Bumrah, who played as a second fiddle but provided solid support at the other end of the crease and scored 5 off 54 balls. Following Bumrah’s dismissal, the 36-year-old was left alone again to shepherd the tail with Mohammed Siraj. After India reached 164, the required runs to win the Test went below 30, and there was a glimmer of hope.
Despite his grit and determination, India’s run chase came to a heartbreaking end when Mohammed Siraj was bowled by Shoaib Bashir, who spun through the gate to dislodge the bail. With the final wicket of Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja was stranded at an unbeaten 61 off 181 balls, a lone warrior whose defiant knock wasn't enough to take India over the line.
Sanjay Manjrekar criticized Jadeja for India’s Lord’s Test defeat
Speaking on Star Sports after India’s Lord’s Test defeat, Manjrekar criticized Ravindra Jadeja for not showing his intent to win the match, adding that he was playing safe instead of taking calculated risks since the game was slipping away from the hands of Team India.
The former India batter further labelled Jasprit Bumrah as a ‘star’ in a 35-run partnership with Jadeja for the ninth wicket.
"The writing was on the wall that India would lose this match, and the reason would be that Jadeja, who was defending and playing well, didn’t seem to be taking any risks or trying to win the match. He was hoping against hope, playing the waiting game,” Manjrekar said.
“The star of that partnership was Bumrah. He batted for an hour and 40 minutes against fast bowlers who were even bowling bouncers.
“And just think how little he must practice batting. His greatness in bowling and his mental toughness were clearly visible,” he added.
In the first innings of the Lord’s Test, Ravindra Jadeja scored 72 off 131 balls, which was one of the vital contributions from the all-rounder to help Team India level England’s first-innings total of 387.
With the Lord’s Test defeat, India are currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series against England. Team India and England will return to action for the fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, which will take place on July 23.
