“India could’ve won by Tea” - Ex-Pakistan cricketer slams Ravindra Jadeja for Lord’s Test defeat

Former Pakistan keeper-batter Kamran Akmal has slammed Team India for lacking intent in the fourth innings of the Lord’s Test, which India lost by 22 runs against England as they are trailing the series by 1-2 with two more games to go.

In the 193-run chase, India were reeling down at 58/4 at stumps on Day 4 with 135 more runs required on the fifth and final day to win the Test and take a 2-1 lead in the series. However, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Washington Sundar queued up to the pavilion in the first session on Day 5.

Later, Ravindra Jadeja played a valiant knock of 61. However, he couldn’t get enough support from the lower-order batters Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj as India fell short by 22 runs.

Speaking on YouTube, Akmal stated that had England got a target of 193 runs, they would’ve finished it off in 30 overs with their Bazball approach. However, India took 74.5 overs to add only 170 runs in the fourth innings.

“If they had tried, runs would have come. Against this bowling, they scored so many runs in the first two Tests, so 192 (193) was not such a difficult target. The pitch was a bit difficult, but the uneven bounce that was there during England’s innings wasn’t there during India’s chase. England would have completed the chase by lunch,” Akmal said on the YouTube channel ‘The Game Plan’.

Furthermore, Akmal asserted that Jadeja should’ve taken his chances with an aggressive batting approach when India was eight wickets down in the game. However, Jadeja took up a defensive approach, which didn’t work out well for Team India.

“In batting, the planning was not right. When Jadeja was getting to play the final two balls of the over and the fielders were up, he should have taken his chances. He wanted to take the match deep. No batter tried to make runs,” he added.

“Bumrah and Siraj defended very well and provided partnerships. But the balls that Jaddu got. The runs that he could have scored, had he got them, India could have won by Tea,” he stated.

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