Former India coach Greg Chappell has expressed anxiety with Ravindra Jadeja's conservative style of play in India's fourth-innings pursuit of 193 in the third Test against England at Lord's. Jadeja was left on 61 off 181 balls, but India fell short by 22 runs, falling behind 2-1 in the five-match series.
Jadeja, who is famous for his calmness and grittiness, registered his fourth straight half-century in Tests. Chappell feels that the left-handed batsman might have lost a chance to go for calculated shots in the later part of the match—especially when he was batting along with the tailenders.
Analyzing the last day's play, Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo: "Briefly, the Lord's Test also yielded a revealing moment with the handling of Jadeja at the end of the game. Left with the tail, Jadeja did what most specialist batsmen tend to do in such a situation: he protected the tail, milked the strike, and played cautiously. At face value, it was a responsible innings. Was it the appropriate one though?"
Chappell went on to contend that Jadeja, as the last acknowledged batter, should have taken it upon himself to get the match done—something that should have been underscored by the team administration.
"Actually, Jadeja was the only known batter remaining. If India was going to chase down the score, he needed to play calculated risks. His role was not to leave balls and pick up singles - it was to win the game. That was something that should have been coming from the dressing room, from the captain."
He went on to say:
He had to be told outright: 'You are the man who must get this done. The tail's role is to stay on with you, but you must go for the victory'.
In spite of two bold alliances—35 from 132 balls with Jasprit Bumrah and 23 from 80 with Mohammed Siraj—India came agonisingly close. Chappell recalled drawing a similarity with Ben Stokes' iconic match-winning innings at Headingley in 2019, where England captain chose to take a bold and attacking approach against Australia in a similar situation.
We witnessed just that from England's Ben Stokes in Australia at Leeds in 2019. In the same position, he stood on his own feet and played one of the greatest innings in the last 50 years. Most importantly, Stokes played that inning with an assurance that, win or lose, his team and leadership would stand by him. That's the attitude which must be cultivated in any good team," Chappell summed up.
Read also| Kumble on Lord’s Loss: ‘Jadeja, Not Siraj, Should’ve Taken the Risk’
