Former Indian batter Suresh Raina has showered praise on Ravindra Jadeja for his consistent performances against England. Raina noted that Jadeja has scored more runs than former Indian captain Virat Kohli in tough English conditions.
Jadeja scored a valiant knock of 61 runs off 181 balls in the second innings of the Lord’s Test while chasing 193 but his efforts went in vain as India suffered a 22-run loss.
This was Jadeja’s fourth consecutive fifty of the series. The left-hander has scored 327 runs in three Test matches at an impressive average of 109 in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.
Suresh Raina said in an interview with Sports Tak, “He has scored more runs than Virat Kohli in England. You see the fifties he has scored. Also, he is one of the best all-rounders in world cricket in Tests. He contributes with his fielding, batting and bowling. He can save the team from any situation. At one stage, it seemed we would lose by 100 runs, but he has that fighting spirit in him.”
On the other hand, Raina reckons Jadeja could have adopted an aggressive approach while batting with Jasprit Bumrah in the Lord’s Test.
“The defeat at Lord’s was definitely disappointing because it is a big thing to win at such a historical place. I still feel that when Bumrah and Jadeja were batting, we could have taken some risk because Bumrah can bat, and it was just a matter of a few fours and sixes.”
Raina added Jadeja could have trusted Jasprit Bumrah a bit more than he did and the duo could have rotated strike to get closer to the target.
“I think during that partnership with Bumrah, Jadeja could have said, ‘You take singles, I trust you.’ We did not have many wickets left, and even Jaddu was thinking that he would try in the last two balls of the over. You were going for dots, but we weren’t looking to draw the Test. Bumrah bats well, we have seen him hit Stuart Broad for sixes in England,” Suresh Raina added.
The fourth Test match between England and India will be played at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, from July 23 onwards.
