There is no doubt that the Lord’s wicket was difficult to bat on, and with the ball not coming onto the bat, it was not easy to go for the big strokes
Ravindra Jadeja during his 61 not out vs England at Lord’s on Monday. Pic/Getty Images
Slow and steady does not always win the race. In the hare and tortoise story, the hare was too complacent, but on the final day of the third Test at Lord’s, England were far from complacent. In fact, they were ready to pounce on any mistake the Indian batsmen made.
There is no doubt that the Lord’s wicket was difficult to bat on, and with the ball not coming onto the bat, it was not easy to go for the big strokes. Moreover, after India lost its top seven wickets inside 100 runs, Ravindra Jadeja, who was batting with tailenders, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, had to forego many singles to retain the strike. Time was of no consequence as India had over 100 overs to get to the target, so there was no urgency. Yet, not going for a few bold strokes ensured the England bowling never came under pressure.
At the post-match press conference, India skipper Shubman Gill was asked if Jadeja was instructed to hasten things up. “He’s [Jadeja] very experienced, didn’t want to give him any message. He was batting well with the tail and I just wanted him and the tailenders to bat as long as possible,” replied Gill, adding that the idea was to take the game as deep as possible by stitching small partnerships and apply pressure on England. “We were quite optimistic when Siraj was batting. We felt if we could just get to the second new ball with, say, only 12 or 15 runs left to chase, anything could happen. A couple of boundaries here or there, and suddenly, you’re back on top. But when Siraj got hit by [pacer Jofra] Archer, the only thought we had was if Jaddu bhai [Jadeja] could face all six balls, even if it meant shielding Siraj completely, we might have had a better shot, especially with the off-spinner bowling from one end,” said Gill about India’s crawl in the final stages.
“Our approach wasn’t about asking the tail to hit fours and sixes. The idea was to take the game as deep as possible and apply pressure. The closer we got, the more nervous England would be. It wasn’t about one big effort — just small, stubborn partnerships that could slowly turn the tide,” he added.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
