On Day 5 of the third Test of the current five-match series between England and India, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar praised Jasprit Bumrah as the “real star” of his combination with Ravindra Jadeja, which saw him take nine wickets.
While in the middle, Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah scored 35 runs off 132 deliveries.
Although praising Jadeja’s batting style, Manjrekar believed that Jadeja did not consistently display risk-taking qualities. However, the former Indian cricket player commended Jasprit Bumrah determination in the middle against some excellent fast bowling.
Despite his strong batting and tight defence, Ravindra Jadeja never seemed to be taking the kinds of chances that would have helped India win. He was hoping against hope and playing the waiting game. In that collaboration, however, Jasprit Bumrah was the true star. Speaking on JioHotstar’s “Follow The Blues,” Manjrekar said, “It was amazing to see how his net sessions with the bat finally paid off. He stayed out there for an hour and forty minutes against excellent fast bowling, facing bouncers.”
The pursuit seems unattainable: Manjrekar
Manjrekar was impressed by Jadeja’s ability to stick in and keep one side of the batting end intact despite criticising his too cautious approach with the bat.
The extent to which Jadeja now has faith in his defence is encouraging. Now that he has time on his side and is patient, he plays long innings. He batted for four hours, so the 70 runs he scored in the opening innings weren’t a quickfire score. Additionally, hitting 50 felt like batting for 50 hours on this pitch. However, the scene from the Lord’s balcony did not appear to be very promising when Jadeja mentioned his half-century. The team seemed to know that victory would be extremely challenging, based on the enthusiasm emanating from the dressing room. Jadeja was undoubtedly making an effort, but the chase appeared unachievable considering the surface, the circumstances, and India’s scoring pace,” he continued.
With six wickets remaining on the last day, India needed 135 runs. It was always going to be difficult for the visitors, even though the needed rate dropped below one per over from the start of the post-lunch session. Despite the valiant batsmanship of Mohammed Siraj, Bumrah, and Jadeja, they lost by 22 runs.
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