Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra lavished praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder scored a crucial knock in the first innings of the third Test match against England at Lord’s. Jadeja scored 72 runs off 131 balls with the help of eight fours and one six and Chopra reckons India might have conceded the lead if the left-hander had not scored these runs.
India lost two quick wickets of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as the visitors slipped from 248-3 to 254-5. After losing half of their team, India was still trailing by 133 runs and thus Jadeja’s knock was imperative for the team.
“Ravindra Jadeja had another chance to score a century, but it was missed. He was promoted in the batting order. He was sent as soon as Rishabh Pant got out to maintain a left-right combination, and more importantly, he continued from where he left off in the last Test match. He played very well in the last match too,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Jadeja added 72 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy for the sixth wicket and helped India get close to England’s score. This was Jadeja’s third consecutive fifty on the England tour.
“He scored runs at the Edgbaston ground. It was an important contribution as you wanted to bat them out of the game, and that’s what the Indian team did. When he got to bat this time, I thought it was a very precarious situation. If a wicket had fallen there, and another wicket had fallen after that, we might have conceded a big lead,” he added.
The renowned commentator hailed Jadeja for living up to the lofty expectations while batting at number six in the red-ball version.
“Ravindra Jadeja’s batting prowess is now getting validated. It was repeatedly being said that he shouldn’t be made to bat below No. 7. You are making him bat at No. 6, which is actually a good thing, and he is living up to the billing in that,” he said.
“He always knew how to bat. He is not a mug with the bat. He has always been a good batter. In whichever format you saw him bat, he seemed like a competent batter. Somehow, he is at home in Test cricket. He may start slowly in ODIs and T20s. He needs time, and there is plenty of time in Test cricket,” Chopra observed.
Jadeja has scored 266 runs in five innings at an average of 88.67 against England in the ongoing series.
