Pujara Picks Out What Jadeja Could Have Done Differently At Lord’s: ‘There Was A Gap Between…’

Team India slipped to a heartbreaking 22-run loss in the third Test against England at Lord’s, but that the visitors came so close to the target of 193 was due to one individual, Ravindra Jadeja. 

India were reeling at 112/8 and looked certain to get thrashed, but Jadeja hung in there and edged the side closer to the target, one single at a time. Jadeja eventually finished unbeaten on 61 as India lost wickets at the other end, but the left-hander’s valiant effort came under fire from many, including Herschelle Gibbs, due to the lack of intent shown by the all-rounder.

India’s Cheteshwar Pujara defended Jadeja’s approach, but asserted that his Saurashtra teammate could have maybe looked to score more down the ground. 

“He couldn’t have scored faster on that track. I felt that it was because the ball was soft, and the pitch was on the slower side,” Pujara told The Indian Express.

“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. I thought he was batting well. It was very difficult to score runs on that pitch.

“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.”

Jadeja has smashed four consecutive fifties in this series and has been India’s most consistent batter across the three Tests. For quite some time now, he’s been one of the best batters in the team, evident by his batting average of 42.91 since the start of 2022.

Pujara attributed Jadeja’s recent success, particularly abroad, to how much he’s improved against the quicker bowlers.

“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.

“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. 

Jadeja is averaging 109.00 with the bat so far in the five-match Test series, the highest among all batters.