India’s loss in the last Test at Lord’s was not the result of English brilliance, but of India’s own inability to seize control when it mattered most. Despite early blunders, India clawed their way back into a match they should have won. But when the moment called for intent, they responded with inaction. And the blame lies squarely with Ravindra Jadeja’s bafflingly slow batting and a passive think tank that allowed it to continue.
The Early Lapses
Sure, there were individual blunders: K. L. Rahul dropped Jamie Smith on 5 in England’s first innings, who went on to score another 46 crucial runs and set up the tailenders to add over 100 runs to England’s score. Rishabh Pant was run out on Day 3 in a moment of needless urgency to take a non-existent single on the cusp of lunch in India’s first innings. When patience was needed in India’s second innings, opening batsman, Yashaswi Jaiswal was caught behind on playing an impetuous hook shot (à la IPL) to a Jofra Archer delivery – travelling at 145 km/h – well outside the off stump. But all those lapses occurred when the outcome was still in the balance. India recovered and reached a position from where victory was well within reach.
Ravindra Jadeja’s Vigil
Jadeja remained unbeaten on 61 off 181 balls, batting for over four hours, scoring at a strike rate of 33.7. Initially, watchfulness was required as India needed to stabilise after losing quick wickets. But as the innings progressed, Jadeja’s tempo never changed, even when the situation clearly demanded it. The moment of reckoning came when the eighth wicket fell – that of Nitish Reddy, the last of the recognized batsmen – with India still needing 81 runs for victory. That was when Jadeja needed to shift gears. Instead, he doubled down on defence.
The Ninth Wicket Stand
Jadeja and Bumrah stitched together a partnership of 35 runs in 132 balls. Bumrah, with limited skills of batsmanship survived for 54 balls. Jadeja contributed 28 runs to the partnership from 78 balls. His strike rate? A glacial 35.89, barely different from his average strike rate of 33.70. Jadeja knew that every ball Bumrah survived was a gift for him to get the runs for a win. Yet, no urgency to score was visible in his batting.
The Tenth Wicket Stand
Even after Bumrah’s dismissal, Jadeja continued in the same vein with Siraj – the last man in. Their partnership yielded 23 runs in 80 balls. Siraj survived for 30 balls. Jadeja contributed just 17 runs in 50 balls, with the strike rate dipping further to 34 – even slower than that for the ninth wicket stand with Bumrah!
Jadeja’s Dubious Batting
The strike rates of the four batsmen who preceded Jadeja and scored runs – Rahul (67.2), Nair (42.4), Gill (66.6), and Pant (75) – were much higher than Jadeja’s average strike rate of 33.7. As demonstrated by Bumrah and Siraj, the number 10 and number 11 batters, who survived for 84 balls together, England’s bowlers were not unplayable, when Jadeja batted with them. Yet, Jadeja scored just 45 runs in 128 deliveries across the final two partnerships, at a strike rate of 35.1, almost the average strike rate for his innings. It appears that Jadeja batted with the goal of survival rather than victory.
Was Personal Milestone the Priority?
One is forced to ask: was Jadeja batting to win, or merely to remain unbeaten? The optics suggest the latter. While Bumrah and Siraj valiantly defended for 84 balls, Jadeja used the lifeline provided by them to preserve his wicket – and not to press for victory. It perhaps cost India the match.
Tactical Failure of the Dressing Room
With only tailenders for company, it was imperative for the set batter – Jadeja – to assume responsibility to score quickly before he ran out of partners. The Indian team’s think tank – Coach Gautam Gambhir and Captain Shubman Gill – watched from the dressing room as overs went by, and Jadeja showed no signs of urgency. Why was no directive issued to Jadeja to shift gears? Why was the innings allowed to meander as the match slipped away from India’s grasp? The inaction of the think tank was as costly as Jadeja’s batting itself.
A Lesson in Intent and Initiative
The Lord’s Test was not lost because of one dropped catch or an impulsive run or one rash shot. It was lost because when India still had a clear – though narrow – path to victory, the man best positioned to seize the initiative chose not to. Worse still, the team’s leadership did nothing to change the course of the game.
As India regroups for the remaining two Tests, this defeat should serve as a painful reminder: caution has its place – but not when the moment demands courage. And every member of the team needs to play for the team and not just for personal glory!
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