Ravindra Jadeja showed brilliant resilience alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj after the top-order batters failed to spend much time at the crease at Lord’s. Despite the fight, India fell short by 22 runs in a tense finish.
While some critics felt Jadeja should have accelerated earlier in the chase, his former teammate Cheteshwar Pujara has defended the all-rounder’s approach. Pujara believes Jadeja made the right call considering the match situation—particularly the soft ball, slow pitch, and the support he was getting from the tailenders.
According to Pujara, Jadeja was waiting to launch an attack once the target was within closer reach. “He couldn’t have scored faster on that track,” Pujara told The Indian Express. “I felt that it was because the ball was soft, and the pitch was on the slower side. I guess, Jadeja would have thought that the tailenders were batting well and the team was getting close to the total. And once they were a little closer he would have taken his chances.”
While defending Jadeja’s cautious approach, Pujara also suggested one area where he could have pushed a bit more. “He was batting well. It was very difficult to score runs on that pitch,” he added. “The only thing he could have done better is to look to score down the ground. Like, there was a gap between mid-off and cover.”
Pujara praised Jadeja’s evolution as a batter, especially overseas, and credited his consistent hard work and preparation—even on match days.
“For the last five years, he has improved, especially abroad. He has been working hard. If you notice, even on the match day, he does his net practice. He has shown improvement when playing pace,” Pujara said. “He is now able to face seamers and spinners equally well. Earlier, he was a good player of spin but lacked a little bit of strength against seamers, which is not the case now.”
Pujara also highlighted Jadeja’s natural batting ability, noting that his earlier challenge was converting starts into big scores at the international level. “Earlier, it was the case of him not converting his good starts to big scores at the highest level. See, one can’t get 300 in first-class cricket without skills. But you need to convert, like you do at first-class level, at international level,” he added.
For the latest sports news follow- Revsportz