 "Sunil Gavaskar talks about Ravindra Jadeja's batting following the culmination of India vs England 3rd Test. AFP")
A nervy start complemented by a dreadful Day 5 collapse resulted in Team India losing the Lord’s Test by an agonising margin of 22 runs. The prelude of the story of India’s defeat in the 3rd Test was written in the final session of Day 4 when England bowlers came fired up and picked four important scalps. The momentum shift was discernible and the hosts did not let the match slip afterwards on the day that followed. Ravindra Jadeja tried hard to take India as close as possible to the target of 193, but the all-rounder ran out of partners as eventually the team bundled out at 170.
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Sunil Gavaskar highlights factors that cost India at Lord’s
While the Test match ended on an excruciating note for India, it was tight and could have gone either way until the end. In hindsight, it can be easily gauged that India lacked one good partnership or had the visitors taken a hefty first innings lead, which at one situation looked a certainty, then the result might have been different.
India’s batting legend Sunil Gavaskar paid heed to the factors that led to India’s defeat and highlighted the fact that the team yearned for a 60-70 run partnership. Taking nothing away from the fortitude Jadeja displayed, Gavaskar mentioned that the batter could have attempted an odd offensive strike when spinners Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir were bowling.
“A partnership of 60-70 would have made a difference. India never got that. You could say that Jadeja could have taken the odd chance and not necessarily the aerial route when Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir were bowling. But full marks to him (Jadeja),” Sunil Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.
Considering how the team fared over the 5 days, it is a harsh result for India but it is the bitter truth which the team will have to accept. Shubman Gill and Co. will have to brush aside the disappointment and regroup for the 4th Test. The penultimate Test of the series will begin on July 23.