Ravindra Jadeja ridiculed; shown Ben Stokes mirror even after being India's number 1 all-rounder

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri stated that Ravindra Jadeja has the potential to be an even bigger match-winner if he shows more belief in his batting. The commentator drew comparisons to England skipper Ben Stokes, who bowled a marathon spell on the final day of the Lord's Test to help his team win.

India suffered a heartbreaking loss during the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Lord's. They came close to chasing down the 193-run target but fell short by 22 runs. The match ended in disappointment when Mohammed Siraj’s bat deflected the ball onto his stumps, sealing England’s victory.

Ravindra Jadeja’s Batting Approach During the Lord’s Test Under Scrutiny

India’s lower-order batters showed resistance in the third Test after collapsing to 112/8. Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 61 off 181 balls and nearly took India home in the clash.

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Jadeja added crucial partnerships with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj during the run chase. The left-handed batter played the majority of the balls in each over, leaving just a few deliveries for the tailenders.

Only one wicket fell in the second session, with Bumrah offering firm resistance at the other end. After his dismissal at 147, Jadeja continued shielding Siraj and slowly chipped away at the target.

However, the chase ended just 22 runs short when Siraj was bowled by Shoaib Bashir in the 75th over, dashing India’s hopes of a memorable comeback win.

Could Have Taken More Chances - Ravi Shastri on Ravindra Jadeja

Ravi Shastri said that Ravindra Jadeja should have taken a more aggressive approach against Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir. Shastri said that the ideal moment to attack was during Jadeja and Nitish Reddy’s partnership before lunch, when the ball was still hard and the field was up.

"I thought the time was before lunch, when Nitish Reddy and Jadeja were batting. One of the two should have gone for it. Because the field was up. The ball was a little harder," Shastri said on The Overlap Podcast.

"Once it got soft, you knew there would be one delivery with your name written on it. At some stage, I thought they could have taken more chances, and brought that deficit down to about 40, and then play the way they did," he added.

If Ravindra Jadeja Has Even 40 Percent of the Belief of Ben Stokes… - Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri stated that Ravindra Jadeja has the talent to be a match-winner like Ben Stokes. Shastri added that Jadeja is yet to fully realize his batting potential. He added that Jadeja could win far more matches for India with even 40% of the belief that Stokes has.

"If Jadeja has even 40 percent of the belief of Stokes, he will win you more matches. Because there is no doubt about his talent. It’s just that he has to go and take charge. If he believes he can take charge, he can do it. He’s got three triple-hundreds in First-Class cricket. It took him a long time. Three only. And it took him ages to realise that he has batting potential," Shastri added.

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