Former head coach Ravi Shastri emphasized that Ravindra Jadeja has the potential to be an even greater match-winner for India.
India’s Lord’s Heartbreak Still Looms Ahead of Manchester Test
It’s been over a week since India’s heartbreaking 22-run loss to England at Lord’s, but the memories of that defeat continue to linger. As the 4th chapter of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy gets ready to unfold at Old Trafford in Manchester, fans and players alike are still reflecting on the drama at Lord’s. Despite being reduced to 112/8, India’s lower order, led by Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj, fought valiantly to push the total to 172, nearly pulling off an improbable victory.
Jadeja anchored the innings with an unbeaten 61 off 181 balls, forming vital partnerships of 35 with Nitish Reddy, 30 with Bumrah, and 23 with Siraj. His approach, however, divided opinion. While Jadeja rotated the strike and allowed his tail-end partners to face deliveries, some experts, including Ravi Shastri, felt he missed an opportunity to attack more aggressively.
Shastri, speaking on The Overlap Podcast, argued that Jadeja and Reddy could have capitalized when the field was up, particularly against Shoaib Bashir and Joe Root. “I thought the time was before lunch, when Nitish Reddy and Jadeja were batting. One of the two should have gone for it. Because the field was up. The ball was a little harder. Once it got soft, you knew there would be one delivery with your name written on it. At some stage, I thought they could have taken more chances and brought that deficit down to about 40, and then play the way they did,” Shastri remarked.
Ravindra Jadeja vs Ben Stokes
Ravindra Jadeja’s gritty knock at Lord’s has drawn comparisons with Ben Stokes’ iconic innings against Australia during the 2019 Ashes at Headingley. In that unforgettable Test, Stokes single-handedly powered England to victory, adding 101 runs with the final three wickets and finishing unbeaten on 135 after unleashing a brutal assault on the Australian bowlers.
While Jadeja is not a power-hitter like Stokes, Ravi Shastri believes the Indian all-rounder could elevate his match-winning credentials with greater self-belief. “If Jadeja has even 40 percent of the belief of Stokes, he will win you more matches. Because there is no doubt about his talent. It’s just that he has to go and take charge. If he believes he can take charge, he can do it. He’s got three triple-hundreds in First-Class cricket. It took him a long time. Three only. And it took him ages to realise that he has batting potential,” said the former India head coach.
